Cross Jurisdictions
by Heaven Born Captain
Summary: COMPLETE. Xover with Criminal Minds. A chilling case brings two teams together in a cat and mouse game to find a killing machine who's developed a taste for Navy wives. Eventual TIVA. Some HP friendship. Please Read and Review.
1. A Chilling Discovery

A/N: Hey everyone. This is my first Navy NCIS fic. I have written two stories for Charmed (Xovers with Harry Potter). I love both NCIS and Criminal Minds and I hope you enjoy this story.

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or locations from either NCIS or Criminal Minds . I have the utmost respect for the writers, producers and directors of both and do not intend to infringe copyright laws. I am not making any profit from this story and am writing it for my enjoyment and the enjoyment of others.

**Chapter One: A Chilling Discovery**

_Snap, snap._

Ziva was photographing the crime scene. Never before had the team been faced with so much blood. The walls, the floor, the bed and the furniture, all was tainted by the rich red arterial spray. Their victim, a thirty-two wife of a Navy Commander, had had her throat slit ear to ear, but not before she was subjected to a gruesome torture.

Ducky's preliminary findings had indicated that she had been burned with a cigarette on several parts of her body and her fingernails had been removed, though it was unclear to them if it had been done while she was still alive. Ligature marks on her wrists and ankles signified that she had been restrained, however, the body was found on the floor of the bedroom and there were no signs of any restraints. The body was found by one of the victim's friends, who had come by to drop off some Tupperware that she had borrowed.

Calleigh Woodridge was indeed a beautiful woman. Dark, wavy hair, green eyes and curves that any material would cling to exotically. Her husband had recently returned from a two-year stint in the Persian Gulf, but was now away on Navy business. Ziva picked up a few pamphlets that were lying next to her bed. As she flicked through the pages of blearing sunshine and vacant beaches that belonged to the islands of the South Pacific, she knew that this was the last thing that the young couple expected.

"It's a bad one, isn't it?" Tony asked as he came back from interviewing the neighbours.

"You think, DiNozzo?!" Gibbs asked wholeheartedly as he walked up behind his senior field agent, staring at him as though he expected him to continue.

"Uhh, neighbours said they didn't hear or see anything, boss," Tony announced, "Though one very attractive young blonde did ask me for my num-"

Gibbs cut him off with a slap to the back of the head. Ziva merely sniggered, raising her camera to photograph the blood spray pattern across the wall and curtains.

"Not a good time," Tony muttered, "Got it, boss."

"If Ducky's right about the torture," McGee began as Palmer strapped the body to the gurney, "It's strange that nobody heard her scream."

"I think I can answer that," Ducky said walking up behind the agents, "It seems that there is skin missing from lips. I think she was gagged with duck tape, Jethro. I'll know more when I get her down to autopsy."

"As always, Duck," Gibbs answered as his medical examiner followed the body out the front door.

"If she was gagged, then where's the duck tape?" Ziva piped up.

"I'm guessing that the psycho took it with him, along with the restraints," Gibbs replied, "McGee, David, finish up here and run everything you know about this woman, her husband, her entire family, through the system. DiNozzo, with me."

"Where to, boss?" Tony asked as he jogged up behind his team leader, who was exiting the abode.

"To contact NSAWC," Gibbs replied shortly, without turning around.

"The Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center?" Tony asked, clearly confused, "Why?"

"To inform Commander Woodridge that he is a widower," Gibbs answered, opening the car door and hopping into the driver's side. Tony got into the passenger side, bitterly despising the job of notification.

**oOo**

"We've got another body," JJ announced, walking into Hotch's office.

"I'm sorry?" he answered, "We're working a case?"

"The one from two weeks ago," JJ replied dismissively, "He's killed again."

Hotch got up and followed JJ to the conference room. JJ signalled to the team in the bullpen to follow them. Hotch knocked on Rossi's door and invited him to join them in the conference room.

"What have we got?" Rossi asked as he entered the room.

"The case we had two weeks ago here in D.C." JJ answered, "I just got this." She passed files out to the team.

"This is a different target," Morgan announced as he read through the file, "A Navy Commander's wife?"

"She still fits the original victimology," Prentiss responded, "Early thirties, brunette, housewife, no children."

"And the method of killing is the same," Reid piped up, "Throat slit ear to ear, the torture. It's his MO."

"This is not in our jurisdiction," Hotch proclaimed, "Murder of a Navy Commader's wife is NCIS jurisdiction."

"It was already our case," JJ protested, "Metro called us in on this."

"But NCIS hasn't," Hotch replied.

"Hotch, are you going to let this guy get away again?" Morgan asked dejectedly.

Hotch hesitated for a moment, his conflicting interests clear. "Get your stuff. We're going to Washington Yard."

**oOo**

"What have you found so far?" Gibbs asked his team, walking into the bullpen with coffee and Tony directly behind him.

"Nothing to suggest a reason for her murder. Calleigh Woodridge," McGee answered as he brought her photo up on the screen, "She helped out with Meals on Wheels, got her hair done every Wednesday, taught at a ballet centre on Thursday nights and visited her father with Alzheimer's at his nursing home three or four times a week."

"The husband," Ziva began as she clicked on the remote and brought his Navy file up on the screen, "Commander Adrian Woodridge. They were married for three years. He was recently transferred off the USS Ronald Reagan to spend more time with his wife. He was placed in the Naval Intelligence Office, but for the last three weeks he has been liaising with the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center in Nevada. There was nothing untoward in his file."

"We do have something, boss," McGee piped up, noticing Gibbs' frustration.

"When were you going to tell me this?" Gibbs half-shouted at the two.

McGee clicked on the remote and brought up the bloody images of several other women that had been killed in a similar fashion on the screen. "Five women, all murdered in the past month, throats slit, tortured. They were brunettes in their thirties and housewives. Do you think it's possible that this is part of a serial killing? Maybe this has nothing to do with the husband?"

"Two weeks between this kill and his last one?" Gibbs asked, squinting to read the file.

"You think that's important?" Tony asked, taking a file.

"Two days between the first and second," Gibbs read aloud, "Two days between the second and third, one day between the third and fourth and six hours between the fourth and fifth. Then two weeks between the fifth and sixth? Yeah, DiNozzo, I'd say it's important."

"Who's case was it before?" McGee asked ripping through his file to find the answer.

At that moment, the elevator pinged and a tall, handsome man in a suit walked out, a beautiful, blonde woman flowing behind him. "I'm looking for Special Agent Gibbs," the man exclaimed loudly.

"Right here," Gibbs answered, walking towards the two strangers.

"SS Aaron Hotchner, SSA Jennifer Jareau," Hotch said, "We're from the FBI's Behavioural Analysis Unit."


	2. Two Teams, One Goal

A/N: Hey everyone. I probably should've mentioned earlier that this is set just before 'Hiatus' and during an unspecified time in the middle of Criminal Minds Season 3.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from either NCIS or Criminal Minds and I am not making a profit from this story.

**Chapter Two: Two Teams, One Goal**

"That was quick," Gibbs stated, "We only found the body this morning."

"We have been working on this case," JJ answered, "And we believe that your victim was killed by a serial killer. One that we have been tracking for the past three weeks."

Gibbs nodded, his team not daring to say anything.

"My team is downstairs," Hotch announced, "They're about to come up. I don't want to have to fight you for jurisdiction on this. You should take our offer to help."

Gibbs walked towards the elevator, beckoning to the BAU team leader to follow. Hotch was slightly perturbed by this, but chose to follow. He stepped into the elevator after Gibbs, who pressed the 'Door Close' button. After it had shut, he flicked the 'Emergency Stop' switch. The elevator slowed to a halt.

"Uh, we're not moving," Hotch pointed out, quite obviously.

Gibbs simply glared at him.

"I know that this is your jurisdiction," Hotch continued, "But we know this case and we need to find this killer before he kills again. You've seen what he's done. He's going to keep doing it. So whether you like it or not, you're going to need our help."

"You think my team can't handle it," Gibbs piped up.

"I'm very sure that they can," Hotch replied politely, "But together we can find him faster."

"You want to work concurrently on this?" Gibbs asked, surprised.

"Absolutely," Hotch answered, "Any information we have, we will bring to you and your team will make the arrest."

"And why would you do this?" Gibbs questioned suspiciously.

"That's just how we operate," Hotch answered simply, "So are we going to work on this?"

Gibbs did not answer, but clicked the elevator back on. Hotch smiled as they headed back up to the floor.

**oOo**

_Meanwhile in the bullpen..._

"Should we call the EMTs?" Tony brought up, causing Ziva to laugh.

"I would not bother," she answered. All of a sudden, the door to the fire escape staircase opened up.

"Is the elevator not working?" an African-American man asked as he entered the bullpen, followed by two other men and two women.

"Gibbs is using it as his office again," Tony answered, "And you are?"

"BAU," the same man replied simply.

The elevator pinged and the doors opened as Gibbs and Hotch walked out.

"I'll introduce my team," Hotch said, "SSAs Morgan, Rossi, Prentiss, Reid and Tech Analyst Garcia." Each member nodded their head slightly at their name.

"Special Agents DiNozzo and McGee, and Officer David," Gibbs announced, pointing at each member of his team, "We're going to be working the BAU on this."

"I'm going to speak with your director on how we should best handle the media," JJ claimed as she walked towards the stairs.

"JJ is our media liaison," Hotch told Gibbs, who nodded, happy that he wouldn't have to deal with the vultures on this case.

"We need to find out why he chose this victim and why there was such a large gap between the fifth and sixth body," Hotch stated, "Reid, Morgan, Prentiss, work with these agents."

"We want answers, guys," Gibbs continued and then turned to Hotch, "Agent Hotchner, Agent Rossi, Abby's got something for us."

The two FBI agents looked confused, but followed Gibbs down to the lab. Hotch beckoned Garcia to follow.

"Have you got anywhere our tech set up?" Hotch asked politely.

"Probably down here. What have you got for me, Abs?" Gibbs asked as he entered her lab. Hotch and Rossi looked around and followed the man as he approached a young woman with the funkiest sense in dress.

"Oh, hello FBI agents who I do not know," Abby said brightly.

"Abs, case," Gibbs said again, pointedly.

"Oh right, well I ran the skin cells from the ligature marks and found that not all of them belonged to our victim," Abby told them.

"Some belonged to other women?" Hotch asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes, but none from our killer," Abby answered, wondering how the agent guessed it.

"We believe that he's using the same restraints for each vic," Rossi told them, "It explains why he removes them and takes them with him."

"Jethro?" they heard Ducky's voice call over the video intercom.

"Right here, Duck," Gibbs answered, "You got something?"

"I have discovered his weapon of choice," Ducky answered.

"We'll be right down," Gibbs answered, shutting off the video feed.

**oOo**

The younger agents from the FBI and NCIS were sitting around Tony's 'Campfire' as they shared theories on why he changed his target and took so long to kill again.

"Perhaps there was an event," Emily piped up finally, "Something that involved the Navy, somehow. That would cause him to change who he goes after. And if this was some sort of stressor, then it would explain the gap."

"Are you saying he would go on some sort of hiatus from killing?" Ziva questioned.

"Statistically it's highly unlikely, but it is possible," Reid answered.

"I'll search all events in D.C. that involved Naval personnel in the last two weeks," McGee suggested.

"We're gonna have to narrow it down," Tony pointed out, "There's gotta be dozens of events- deaths, injuries, car accidents, discharges, too many to go through."

Ziva was quiet and staring at Agent Prentiss. "Ziva?" Tony questioned.

"Mmm," she answered and then chose to ask what was really eating away at her mind. She turned to Emily. "I feel like I know you from somewhere."

"You know I get that feeling, too," Emily replied.

"You ever been to Israel?" Ziva asked while the other agents got the feeling they would be here for a long time while Ziva placed her.

"Not since I was twelve," Emily replied, "Then I moved back downtown DC."

Finally it clicked in Ziva's mind. "Oh my. I know where I know you from."

The other agents beckoned her to tell, quite annoyed by this disruption.

"The Capital Building on Congressional Drive," Ziva told them.

It was then that it clicked in Emily's mind, too. "Oh my god. You live in the condo across from mine. Wow, it is a small world."

"Okay," Morgan said, cutting across them. He got the feeling that they could talk about this forever. "Now that we've sorted that out, what are we going to tell Hotch and Gibbs when they ask what we've come up with?"

The others silently agreed with him and went back to discussing the case.

**oOo**

"What have you got, Duck?" Gibbs asked as they walked into the morgue. Garcia had remained in Abby's lab, connecting her notebook computer to the NCIS network.

Ducky had the body of Calleigh Woodridge covered to her shoulders.

"Markings on the neck," Ducky replied, "He used a serrated knife, probably a large hunting one, judging by the size of the wound. You can the markings more clearly on the top of the sternocleidomastoid muscle." He lifted up the skin to reveal his discovery.

"He did not cut through it," Rossi pointed out, "Strange. According to the Metro ME's, he ripped right through the necks of the other women. Nearly decapitated them. He's taking less time. He's devolving."

"What about the cigarette burns and fingernails?" Gibbs asked.

"Peri-mortem as far as I can tell," Ducky replied, "The excessive loss of blood gave it away. You can't bleed after death, so I am very sure this happened shortly beforehand."

"Right," Gibbs said dismally and turned around and headed towards the door.

"I'm not done, Jethro," Ducky called out. Gibbs, Hotch and Rossi turned around to face him.

"Make it fast Dr. Mallard," Gibbs told him, slightly frustrated.

"She was close to five weeks pregnant," Ducky said sadly.

"According to Commander Woodridge's file, he was in New York for a period of ten days five weeks ago," Gibbs stated.

Rossi looked down as Hotch spoke up. "Our last three vic's were married and involved in some, well, adulterous activities."

"You think she was having an affair?" Gibbs asked pointedly.

"It fits the victimology," Rossi answered.

"Send a DNA sample from the fetus to Abby, Duck," Gibbs told his ME before walking out of the morgue, the FBI agents in toe.

"Another piece of this puzzle, I think," Hotch said as they walked back to the bullpen to meet up with the rest of their teams.

--

**A/N: Please review people. You know "If you love me, won't you let me know." Let me know what I did right, or wrong, please and thank-you.**


	3. Making the Connection

A/N: Hey everyone. Thanks to those people who have reviewed. I love getting reviews, even if they only say "Good work" so please do review. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from either NCIS or Criminal Minds and I am not making a profit from this story.

**Chapter Three: Making the Connection**

"Why this victim?" Reid piped up. They had been collaborating ideas for half an hour and decided that Prentiss' explanation for the two-week break was sound.

"You think there's another connection between the victims?" Tony asked.

"It's just too random," Reid answered, sitting up straight to further explain his point, "He has a preference, yes, but there has to be another reason for why he is choosing these victims."

"The last three women had affairs," Morgan stated, "But not the first two, so there's no clear progression there."

"Run with it," Gibbs said walking into the room. Morgan simply looked confused.

"Evidence that our victim was involved in something similar," Hotch explained.

"If he is killing these women because they are having affairs," Reid continued, "Then it's likely that these sadistic acts are outlets for revenge."

"David," Gibbs said directly, "Go to her workplace and see if anyone there knows of this affair."

"Prentiss, go with her," Hotch added. They nodded, picking up their stuff and walking towards the elevator.

"Morgan, take DiNozzo and head to Potomac Airport," Hotch then said, "Commander Woodridge is flying in from Nevada. Pick him up and ask him what he knows about his wife's life while he's away."

"Don't mention this affair just yet," Gibbs put in and Hotch nodded in agreement. They also grabbed their stuff and followed the female agents out of the building.

"If there is a direct link between the affairs and then murders, I think we have a substantially sound profile prepared," Rossi announced to the remaining agents.

"How long do you think it'll be before we find another body?" McGee asked, slightly afraid of the answer.

"I don't know," Hotch replied, equally as grave, "But we need to work quickly, because my guess is that he'll kill again soon."

The agents went silent, contemplating when they would find their next victim.

**oOo**

"I'm driving," Ziva announced as they approached their black sedan.

"Okay," Emily replied, moving towards the passenger side, not fully aware of what she just committed to, "But we need to get there quickly. We're racing the clock."

"Not going to be a problem," Ziva replied.

Emily put the address of Mrs. Woodridge's workplace into the GPS. "It's about a twenty minute drive."

"I'll get us there in fifteen," Ziva answered, turning on the ignition. Without warning, she sped off, leaving Emily sprawled passenger seat, desperately trying to pull her seat belt on.

"You don't need to go that fast, Ziva," she cried.

"I drive fast," Ziva answered, without tearing her eyes away from the road.

"Watch out!" Emily found herself yelling as Ziva swerved into the right lane, narrowly missing an SUV.

Ziva smiled as she sped on down the highway.

**oOo**

"Prentiss let Ziva drive!" Tony stated, "She has no idea what she's getting into."

"Why?" Morgan questioned as he got into the passenger side of their black sedan.

"I made the mistake of letting Ziva drive once," Tony remembered, "I hurled."

Morgan laughed as Tony turned the car on and drove out of the Washington Yard.

"So do you guys already have a profile for this guy?" Tony asked as they were driving down the highway towards Potomac Airport, "I mean you've been working the case for three weeks."

"We have a profile, man," Morgan replied, "But we need to ascertain how it's changed and why. What do you know about profiling? You seem closed to the idea."

"It's not that," Tony tried to reply sincerely, "It's just that, well, last time I came across the technique, it didn't bode well for our team."

Seeing the confused look on the FBI agent's face, Tony decided to continue, though still remaining vague.

"Ziva profiled the team for our strengths and weaknesses and we lost one of our agents because of it. Now, I don't blame her for what happened, but it's just... something that was hard to come to terms with. I don't even know why it meant that Kate was killed, but I assume she was chosen for a reason."

"What happened?" Morgan asked, still as confused as before.

"It's a long story," Tony answered nonchalantly as he pulled into the carpark and stopped the car.

Morgan, recognising that his NCIS partner did not want to discuss it further, did not press the matter, but made a mental note to find out. They walked coolly into the foyer of the Airport and waited silently for Commander Woodridge's plane to arrive.

**oOo**

"How long has she worked here?" Ziva asked one of the other tellers at the bank that Calleigh Woodridge worked at.

"About a year and a half," the woman replied.

"Okay," Emily then said, "And you are?"

"Kiah Patterson," she answered, "Cal and I were good friends. We went out on Friday nights and weekends and I could always count on her to babysit my kids. Since her husband was away, she seemed to have plenty of free time. She didn't seem to socialise much outside of work unless I dragged her out."

"Did that change at all lately?" Ziva questioned.

Kiah could tell they knew about the affair, so she chose not to hide it. "Well, in the past few months she was..." Kiah hesistated, "seeing someone." She ended her sentence with a sigh.

"Do you know who, Mrs. Patterson?" Ziva pushed.

"Look, she didn't want her husband to find out. He was always gone and I guess she felt lonely."

"A name, Mrs. Patterson?" Ziva asked again.

Kiah looked down as she spilled the truth. "The bank manager. Blake Doherty."

"Okay, thank you Mrs. Patterson," Emily told the woman and turned with Ziva to walk towards the bank manager's office.

"Wait a sec," Ziva said, pulling on Emily's arm to stop her from approaching the man's door. She pulled out her cell phone and punched in 'Speed Dial 2.'

"Gibbs," the voice on the other end of the phone said.

"It's Ziva. Agent Prentiss and I have found the man she was having an affair with. Her boss, it would seem."

Ziva heard Gibbs relay the information. She was guessing to Hotch and Rossi.

"Right, bring him in here," Gibbs answered and hung up.

"We're bringing him in," Ziva told Emily, "Boss' orders."

Emily knocked on the door and a man with light brown hair and bright blue eyes answered the door. "Can I help you?" he asked.

"Blake Doherty?" Ziva questioned.

"Yes," he replied suspiciously.

"Agent Prentiss, FBI, Officer David, NCIS," Ziva told him as they flashed their badges, "We have a few questions about the murder of one of your employees this morning."

"I understand," Doherty replied, taking a seat at his desk, throwing his arm over the back of his chair.

"We would prefer it if we did this at NCIS," Emily told him, walking towards his desk.

"Are you going to handcuff me?" Doherty smirked as Ziva reached for her cuffs. Emily put her hand on Ziva's arm to stop her and shook her head.

"Not if you will walk out of here with us," Emily answered.

Doherty shrugged and coolly walked out of the office behind Emily and in front of Ziva.

**oOo**

Doherty sat nervously in interrogation. Gibbs stood on the other side of the glass with Hotch, Rossi, Ziva and Emily.

"You two are going in," Hotch said to Emily and Ziva.

"Us, why?" Ziva questioned, although Emily simply nodded.

"He underestimates women," Rossi answered.

"He does not think that you will get anything out of him," Hotch further explained, "His personality dictates that he sees women as subservient. I would not be surprised if this relationship was forced upon our victim."

"Do you think he's involved in this?" Ziva asked.

"Possibly," Gibbs answered, "We haven't linked him to our other victims, yet."

Emily nodded and opened the door to the interrogation room. As Ziva turned to follow her, Gibbs spoke to her.

"And David," he said, "Please do not kill our suspect this time."

Ziva did not retort, but looked positively murderous as she followed Emily into interrogation.

Hotch and Rossi looked to Gibbs for further explanation, but he did not give it, instead choosing to turn back to the glass to watch the questioning.

"So, Mr. Doherty," Emily began as she took a seat, "One of your other employees tells us that you were having a relationship with Calleigh Woodridge."

"It's not like I'm a ghastly kind of guy," Doherty answered with distaste, "Unless ghastly turns you on?"

Ziva palmed off a revolted look in his direction, whilst Emily merely ignored him.

"How long did the affair last?" Emily asked sincerely.

"Wouldn't you like to know exactly how long I could keep a married woman in my bed?" Doherty questioned with a smirk on his face.

Ziva had had enough. She slammed her folder down in front of him, both her hands on the desk staring into his eyes, just inches away from his face. "Wipe that look off your mouth," she told him calmly, though her voice was laced with disgust.

"Face, Ziva," Tony muttered from the other side of the glass. He had just returned to NCIS with Morgan and had joined the team leaders in the observation room.

Doherty now looked positively afraid of the woman.

"Answer Agent Prentiss' question," Ziva ordered him before she moved away from him.

"About seven months," Doherty answered, "But it was on and off."

"Did her husband suspect anything?" Emily asked.

"I don't think so," Doherty replied, now fully complying with the interrogators' questions out of fear of Ziva.

Emily nodded, sensing that she was not being told everything. She reached into the file and pulled out some crime scene photos.

"This is what happened to her," Emily told him as he placed the photos that Ziva had taken in front of him.

Doherty looked away. "I did not do that," he told them in a low voice.

"Do you know these women?" Ziva asked, placing photos of the other five victims in front of him.

He looked at the women and gulped. "These three have been in my bank a few times. I'm not sure about the other two."

Emily stood up as Ziva collected the photos on the table and followed her out of the room.

"Find out if the other women had accounts at this bank," Gibbs ordered Tony, who left immediately, followed by Morgan.

"I think we may have finally found our link," Hotch announced.

"Boss," McGee said as he entered the observation room, "We've got another body."

--

**A/N: As I said, please review. :)**


	4. More Than One New Friendship

A/N: Hey everyone. If you're reading this, I would be ecstatic if you would review. I love reviews. So yeah, please do review.

Anyway, did anyone from Australia watch Scorched last night on channel 9? I thought it was so good, but freaky and I really hope nothing of the sort happens in 2012. My house would have gone up in flames within the first 24 hours. And I've changed my mind- I definitely do not want Georgie Parker for Premier. Lol. And to all those in the US, I hope that everythign turns out okay in New Orleans. I'm wishing you all well.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from either NCIS or Criminal Minds and I'm not making a profit from this story.

* * *

**Chapter Four: More Than One New Friendship**

"_Boss," McGee said as he entered the observation room, "We've got another body."_

"Get the teams," Gibbs said as he walked up towards the bullpen, closely followed by Hotch and Rossi.

They got into their black sedans and SUVs and drove to the crime scene in silence. Walking into the woman's house, they were met with a state of destruction, much like the one they had seen earlier that day. Carotid arterial spray was gashed across the walls and furniture in the bedroom, a messy array of broken glass and lopsided photos, indicating a struggle, and a body of a beautiful young, brunette woman in the centre of the room, lying on her side.

Patricia Jacobson was the thirty year old wife of a Navy midshipman, who was deployed in Iraq. She had no children and like the other women, had a part-time job, but mainly did housework. Morgan called Garcia to confirm a link to the other women.

"Hey baby doll," Morgan said as the tech answered the phone.

"Oh wow, are you talking to me?" he heard Abby's voice say brightly.

"You're on speaker phone," Garcia called out to him.

Hotch indicated to Morgan that he wanted to talk, so his cell phone was also switched on to speaker.

"Did you find the link with Capital Banking Corporation and the other victims?" Hotch asked as both teams gathered around the phone to listen to the answer.

"All six of your victims had accounts with them," Garcia announced, "Which is not uncommon since approximately forty-two percent of residents in the DC area do."

"Just ran Patricia Jacobson, Gibbs," Abby called out, "She was a client, too."

"Get me a list of every employee working there," Gibbs shouted into the phone.

"Okay, okay, no need to shout," Abby answered.

"We will communicate said information forthwith angry B-man," Garcia then said, "Whiz kids out." And hung up.

"Angry B-man?" Gibbs asked, quite confused.

The FBI agents were saved from answering by the arrival of Ducky and his loyal assistant.

"Sorry, we're late," Ducky said as he wheeled in the gurney, "But Mr. Palmer was following the wrong SUV."

"Time of death, Duck," Gibbs asked as he bent down next to the body.

"Well, I would say somewhere in the last two hours," Ducky answered, "Body has hardly cooled. The cause of death is obviously exsanguination. I will probably find these cigarette burns and the removal of her fingernails to be peri-mortem."

Gibbs nodded and turned to his team, "Collect samples and get them to Abby. He may have cut himself on the glass so bag and tag all of it as evidence."

"Right away, boss," Tony saluted.

"The media has caught on to this story," JJ announced, coming into the room.

"Okay, thanks JJ," Hotch said as she walked back out of the room. He turned to Gibbs. "We're ready to present a profile."

**oOo**

The NCIS team sat on the desks or chairs as the BAU team stood at the front of the bullpen. Hotch was holding the remote to the plasma.

"Our UNSUB chooses these victims specifically," Hotch began, "It is not random. He is a preferential assailant."

"He chooses these women based on their appearance, their occupation, the work requirements of their husbands and most importantly, their infidelity," Emily explained as she leaned against McGee's desk, "And he takes these women from a bank that he more than likely has some sort of connection to."

"Recently he altered his target to specify his victims to the wives of Naval personnel," Rossi stated, "It is likely that he is attacking these particular women out of spite. This is about revenge. Perhaps his wife left him for a Navy sailor or officer, or maybe he is or was an officer in the US Navy and his wife had an affair."

"He is sadistic," Morgan piped up, "The torture, the way he kills- it's for his own pleasure."

"Gilles Deleuze describes sadism as a disorder where the individual attempts to destroy the ego, or conscience, and merge the id and super ego," Reid added in.

"As a sadist, he will carry particular personality traits," Hotch said, "Ones that people who know him will recognise. He has a tendency to be violent or cruel, especially to establish dominance in a relationship, he is amused by the psychological or physical suffering of others and he is fascinated by violence and torture."

"He would also restrict the independence of any partner he ever had," Morgan added, "If he was married, then it would not be a happy marriage."

"So with this in mind," Rossi began, "We want you to find and interview suspects who fit this profile. They may work at the bank now or simply be another customer. But from the evidence you have collected, it seems likely that he keeps them under surveillance for several days, which means that by now he would have a kill list. It is the only way he could be killing every few hours."

The teams nodded and broke apart, returning to their work. They continued to work for a few more hours before Gibbs turned and spoke to them.

"It's one am," he said to both teams, "Go home and we will resume tomorrow at 0700."

Hotch nodded in agreement. The NCIS teams picked up their stuff to go home when Ziva turned to Emily.

"Do you want a lift home?" she asked, "I know you do not have your car."

"Can I drive?" Emily asked eagerly.

"Fine," Ziva replied tossing her keys at the other brunette, "I'm too tired to argue with you."

They walked silently down to the carpark and Ziva got into the passenger side.

"A Mini!" Emily said excitedly. Ziva merely shrugged. They drove to the Capital building in silence. Both were tired and, even though Emily wanted to interrogate Ziva about her background, she reasoned against it.

"So I'll see you tomorrow?" Emily said as they got to their floor.

"Sure, I'll come by your place at 0630," Ziva replied as she unlocked the door to her condo. Emily nodded as she too, walked down to her condo.

**oOo**

Ziva got up at 0500, as always, to go for a run. She dressed, grabbed her iPod and arm band and locked her condo. As she started to walk towards the elevator, she noticed that the lights in Emily's condo were all on. Sensing that something was wrong, she walked up to it and knocked on the door.

"Emily?" she called out, hearing someone bound towards the door, rushing to answer it.

"Ziva?" Emily's voice called back.

"Yeah," she answered as Emily unlocked the door to her condo.

"What are you doing up?" Emily asked as Ziva walked into her apartment, "I thought Gibbs didn't want us in until 07?"

"He doesn't," Ziva answered, "I run every morning. What about you?"

"Couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd go through the employee eval's of the Capital Banking Corporation Branch in downtown DC, where our fifth vic worked."

"Right," Ziva answered taking a seat at the bench in Emily's kitchen, "Argh, it's raining. I don't think I'll run today."

"Good idea, coffee?" Emily asked as she walked towards her cupboard to get out a mug.

"Sure," Ziva answered brightly.

Silently, Emily made two cups of coffee while Ziva flicked through the employee files that Emily was reading. Well, the expresso machine was making the coffee and Emily was watching it.

"So, how long have you lived in the building?" Emily asked as she passed Ziva a cup of coffee and sat on the stool across from her.

"About eight months," Ziva replied as she put sugar into her coffee, "Since I moved here."

"I did not think that you were American," Emily stated, "Your English is accented, though I can't really tell from where. Middle Eastern, it would seem."

Ziva remained silent as Emily continued to ramble. "Yet, you asked me if I had been to Israel and you wear a Star of David. Are you Israeli?"

"Yes," Ziva answered finally, "I grew up in Tel Aviv."

"And before, when Gibbs ordered you not to kill our suspect in interrogation, was he serious?"

"He was just being... bitchy, yes?" Ziva said, straining for the right word.

"Yes, but why?"

"A heroin suspect died while in my custody a fortnight ago. I didn't kill him, I struck him, but it choked him up for like a second. I know that I didn't kill him. He was just so annoying and he wouldn't get into the elevator when I asked. Had it been a year ago, I would've snapped his neck."

Emily opened her mouth to talk, but closed it again. She took a sip of her coffee while she chose her words carefully.

"Can I ask you a question?" Emily then said.

"Shoot away," Ziva answered.

"Actually, it's fire away, but that had the same effect," Emily replied, chuckling, "Anyway, are you Mossad?"

"What would make you think that?" Ziva asked neutrally.

"The fact that you're Israeli, that you're working with NCIS and that you're boss thought that you would kill our suspect," Emily replied quickly.

"Very good, Agent Prentiss," Ziva answered coolly, "I am impressed."

"How did you come to work with NCIS?" Emily asked intuitively.

"How did you come to work for BAU?" Ziva retorted.

"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."

"We're not sharing!" Ziva half-shouted back, "Besides, it's a long story."

"We've got time," Emily answered, "It's only 0530."

"Fine, you go first," Ziva said crossing her arms.

"I was working for the FBI and there was an opening in Hotch's team in the BAU. I had taken the classes and I have a Masters degree in psychology from Yale. Section Chief Strauss selected me from more than a hundred applicants. I know that I had good standing in the FBI because of my mother. She's a diplomat. Ambassador. But I still didn't think that I would get the position."

"And yet you did," Ziva added.

"And yet I did," Emily affirmed, "I assumed that Strauss put me on the team and expected something in return."

"Did she?" Ziva asked, sipping her second coffee of the morning. She had gotten up to refill her mug during Emily's tale.

"She did," Emily answered, looking down, "She expected me to bring her information on anything my team was doing wrong. She wanted dirt on Hotch mostly. I refused to dish it, so I quit when Hotch was suspended. There was no way that I was going to end his career. We both ended up back on the team after a case in Milwaukee. That was four months ago."

"Wow," Ziva said wondrously, "You quit? I've seen Hotch around here before. Recently. I didn't recognise him at first, but when I did, I thought it best not to say anything."

Emily looked at Ziva, frightened of what she might say.

"I won't say anything," Ziva continued, "But whenever I see him, he has a child with him. A young boy."

"His son," Emily replied in a low voice, "Jack. I babysit him sometimes when Hotch has to go to the office for meetings with the other team leaders in BAU or with the chief."

"You babysit his son?" Ziva questioned in awe, "Is anything going on here?"

"No!" Emily cried back with an incredulous look on her face, "There is absolutely nothing going on between Aaron and I."

"Aaron?" Ziva asked, smiling.

"I thought you were going to tell me your story?" Emily retorted, changing the subject.

"Fine. My older brother killed one of Gibbs' agents. I tried to stop him from killing my brother and, in the end, I ended up taking the agent's place on his team."

Emily sat there with her mouth gaping wide for a few moments before she regained the power of speech. "Okay, what the? Please explain."

And so Ziva launched into a long explanation of how Ari first came by the NCIS team, how she met the team when she tried to stop Gibbs from killing Ari and how Jenny had vouched for Ziva when she applied for temporary detachment duty from Mossad to the United States. However, she chose to leave out the part where she killed her brother, instead telling her that he died in a showdown with Gibbs.

"Oh my God," Emily ended by saying, "That was a long, interesting story."

"You know the first time I ever spoke to Tony I asked him if he was having phone sex," Ziva told her and they both laughed.

"Yeah, I get that vibe from both of you," Emily stated and Ziva stopped laughing immediately.

"What do you mean?" Ziva asked a little too quickly.

"Oh come on, Ziva. I've was in your bullpen for five minutes when you popped up behind him, inches from him, and scared the crap out of him. Sorry for pointing out the obvious sexual tension between you two."

"You know what, Emily," Ziva said rising to her feet in an angry fashion, "I'm going to have a shower. I'll be back here in half an hour so we can drive to work."

"K, bye Ziva," Emily said as her new best friend walked out the door.

They drove to work that morning, laughing about the idiosyncrasies of each member of their respective teams.

**A/N: I'm serious about what I said before. Please review. PLEASE :)**


	5. The Only Remaining Option

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I get so excited when I see a 'Review Alert' email from in my inbox. I feel loved, so thanks.

Disclaimer: I don't own anythign from either NCIS or Criminal Minds and I am not making a profit from this story.

**Chapter Five: The Only Remaining Option**

Both teams had arrived by 0710, Morgan and Tony lounging in last.

"Did you two come together?" Emily asked suspiciously.

"Why not?" Morgan retorted, "You came with Ziva. It turns out I'm on Tony's way to work. Plus he's got a sweet ride."

"Okay, guys, we're pairing off and interviewing people at the bank and people in the lives of all our vic's today, looking for anyone who fits the profile," Hotch said as he placed stacks of files down. There were three stacks of files in all.

"We're gonna split into three groups of three to do this," Gibbs announced, "Dave, are you going to stay here?"

"Yeah," Rossi replied, "I'll check on things with Garcia and Abby in the lab and Ducky when he's done with the autopsy."

"Alright," Hotch said authoritatively, "Morgan, JJ, McGee, here you go." He handed them a stack of files. "You get the bank employees." They nodded and Morgan muttered something to McGee under his breath, causing him to smile.

"DiNozzo, Reid, Prentiss," Hotch then called out as the first team walked off, "The first half of people the victim's knew." Prentiss grabbed the pile of files off Hotch, which caused her to nearly topple over, only to be momentarily caught up in Hotch's strong arms. Ziva found herself smiling at this.

"Right," Hotch said, a little frazzled as he tried to straighten up, "David, you're with Gibbs and I."

They grabbed the last files and followed the second group into the elevator. Ziva gave Emily a meaningful glance as they exited before she followed Gibbs and Hotch to their black sedan. It seemed that Gibbs would be driving.

"Which victims' families are we interviewing?" Ziva asked as Gibbs drove out of Washington Yard. She was sitting in the back seat and Hotch was in the front passenger side.

"The last three," Hotch answered, "Jennifer Riccardi, Calleigh Woodridge and Patricia Jacobson."

They remained silent for about five minutes before Gibbs piped up a question to Ziva. "Did you have nice girl talk with Agent Prentiss last night?"

Hotch turned to look at the other team leader like what he had asked was completely pointless.

Gibbs shrugged. "Just making conversation."

Ziva was about to answer and direct her response to Hotch, but since Gibbs was in the car, she chose not to. Plus interrogating one of the top members of the FBI was not an intelligent move.

In another car, however, an interrogation into one particular workplace romance was taking place. Reid found that he was very uncomfortable sitting in the car with Emily and Tony.

"So Tony," Emily began, "You and Ziva seem very close."

"Oh, definitely," Tony answered, "Didn't she give you the dirty details last night during your girly chat?"

Emily laughed malignantly. "Anthony DiNozzo, I don't know why Ziva hasn't killed you yet."

"The threats got boring after a while," Tony answered.

Emily laughed again. "I'm sure, Tony. I know full well that you're-." Reid cut her off to discuss the case.

"We're reinterviewing some of the family members and friends of our first four victims," Reid announced, "This should go quickly."

"Hopefully, we need to find our UNSUB before we find another victim," Emily added.

**oOo**

Six hours of interviews yielded no results. Morgan, McGee and JJ spoke to every employee at the bank that they could, but none said they knew anyone that fit their profile. It was the same story with the families and friends of the victims. Forensics and Ducky's autopsy findings were also not useful. It was the same story as that last kill- no forensic evidence left to trace the UNSUB and no difference in the way he tortured and killed. Gibbs was growing desperate and everyone could sense it. Hotch was also getting worried, however, he managed to compartmentalise better and hide it away.

"I have an idea," Hotch said as he was eating lunch with Gibbs and Rossi.

"When were you going to share this?" Gibbs asked angrily.

"I don't know if it'll work," Hotch reasoned.

"Just tell us the idea, Hotch," Rossi pleaded.

"We put an agent undercover," Hotch suggested, "We're not going draw him out any other way."

Rossi said nothing but Gibbs nodded in agreement.

"I was thinking along the same lines last night," Gibbs said, "I think we should put Ziva under. If anything happens, she has the greatest chance of being able to defend herself."

"How do you figure?" Hotch asked.

"She's a Mossad assassin liaising with my team," Gibbs answered simply, as though it was a common occurrence.

"Well, alright then," Hotch answered, taking the information in, "I think we should use your team for this operation then, Jethro. It's possible that the UNSUB knows all of my team. We have been working the case longer."

Gibbs nodded again. "I'll have McGee go in as the husband and DiNozzo as the lover."

"Will DiNozzo and David be convincing in this role?" Rossi asked perceptively.

"I've had them undercover before as married assassins and they convinced the FBI," Gibbs replied shortly, "I don't want to know what happened in that hotel room, all I know is that it worked."

"Let's hope we have as much luck again," Hotch pronounced. He then stood up. "We should inform our teams of this."

**oOo**

They all arrived in the bullpen after lunch for a briefing. The BAU team expected the briefing to take place there, but they were mistaken as the NCIS team led them up to MTAC. Director Shepard was in the centre of the room, an earpiece on and staring at the large screen. A team of Marines were about to raid a terrorist cell in Afghanistan. The BAU team watched with anticipation as they pushed through the dusty building, apprehending five men and killing the two who had shot at them. When the mission was over, Jenny signalled to her techs to shut it off.

"Another successful mission, Director?" Hotch asked politely.

"It would seem so, Agent Hotchner," Jenny replied, "Jethro has told me of this plan and I have already set up the necessary covers."

"What are we doing?" Ziva piped up from behind Emily and Morgan.

"You, Ziva, are going undercover so that we may catch this guy," Gibbs told her.

The BAU team looked around incredulously, but the NCIS team merely nodded as though this was a common occurrence for them.

"With who?" Tony asked.

"You, Agent DiNozzo," Hotch answered, "As her lover."

"McGee, you've won the role of the husband, so naturally you don't have to do anything," Gibbs told him.

"I have your identities, homes and jobs already set up," Jenny announced, "I think you should go to the bank today, Ziva, McGee. We can't waste any time."

JJ, who had been missing during the briefing, suddenly appeared. "Metro PD just called. We have another body."

"Okay," Gibbs announced, taking charge of the operation, "Morgan, Reid, JJ, Rossi, with me. We'll process this scene with the Metro PD. Hotch?"

"I'll set up this undercover operation with Prentiss and your agents," he told the other leader.

Gibbs then walked out of MTAC with his selected BAU team. Hotch, Prentiss and the remaining NCIS agents stayed in the room to sort out the cover.

After an hour of deep discussion, during which they went over every nook and cranny of the lives of the wealthy Lieutenant Martin Lucien, his exotic and foreign wife, Mia and her lover, Justin Todman, only to find that they only had an hour left to visit the bank.

They rushed down to the bullpen as McGee and Ziva made sure that they looked like the Luciens enough to walk into the bank and check the accounts that Jenny had recently set up for them. Afterwards they would be going to the house, which NCIS had inconspicuously moved several crates of clothing and other living items into during the afternoon.

"So, Ziva?" Tony said, walking towards her desk, where she sat reading through a file with Emily, "We're going undercover again. I was wondering whether or not we'd get to go all the way this time."

"Not on your life, Tony," Ziva replied without looking up as Emily sniggered as silently as she could manage.

"In that case, you could kill me after," Tony said seductively, "I'm sure it would be worth it."

Ziva gave him a small smile but said nothing as she got up and walked towards McGee.

"Ready to go, Martin?" she asked him, ignoring Tony who was standing right behind her, breathing his hot breath down her neck, "We should leave before the bank closes, yes?"

McGee stood up and nodded in agreement. They silently walked towards the exit and out to their car, an inconspicuous silver Mercedes. McGee got into the driver's side, Ziva the passenger's side, and without a word, they drove to the downtown DC branch of the Capital Banking Corporation.

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**A/N: Please review. Please :)**


	6. Undercovers Reloaded

Guys!! I only got one review for the last chapter. Come on, I know you're reading it. I get heaps of story alert messages sent to my email but only a few review alerts. Please, please, please review. Even if it just a few words. It'll only take a few seconds. Please :)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from either NCIS or Criminal Minds and I am not making a profit from this story.

**Chapter Six: Undercovers Reloaded**

It was definitely uncomfortable, five of them in the hot, stinking surveillance van. Tony sat in the front seat just to get some air, while Hotch and Prentiss stayed in the back with Abby and Garcia, who had hacked into the bank's main server and their CCTV and were now streaming live coverage of what was going on in the bank.

McGee and Ziva turned up outside the bank a few minutes later, parking their silver Mercedes across street. They strolled into the bank, with the determination to leave very quickly. Acting like a married couple with problems was no issue for them. McGee had been saddled with wearing the glasses that Tony had worn in that memorable undercover mission as an assassin to give the techs extra video to work with as well as his very bright, new, white Naval uniform that came with the territory of being Lieutenant Martin Lucien.

"How may I help you?" A young teller asked them as their turn came in the queue.

"Good afternoon," McGee said, "We need to check that funds have arrived in this account." He passed his account information over to the teller.

Hotch chose this time to ring his phone.

"Lucien," McGee said as he answered the phone.

"Okay, you need to leave, tell her you have to fly somewhere tonight and won't be home and make sure people around you hear you," Hotch ordered, "He could be watching."

"I will leave immediately," McGee said into the phone and then hung up.

"I'm sorry, honey," he told Ziva, "Something has come up at work that I need to fix. I won't be home tonight. The driver is going to pick me up from here." And he handed to her the keys to the Mercedes as the teller came back with his information.

"That is fine," Ziva replied stiffly, and loud enough for a few people to hear their conversation. McGee kissed her cheek and walked out of the bank without another word. Ziva returned to the teller to withdraw money from her husband's account and then followed McGee out of the bank and over to their car. McGee had already been picked up in a black Chrysler, which was driven by Palmer.

"It looks like you're going in tonight, DiNozzo," Hotch announced as Ziva drove off in the direction of her new home.

Unbeknownst to them, their plan had worked. The moment Ziva walked into the building, the UNSUB caught sight of her, listened to the conversation between her and her husband and decided to follow her home. He walked out of the building when McGee did and got into his own black Chevy, watching Ziva walk out and drive off. Trailing a few cars behind her, he wondered if this woman was as unfaithful as his previous victims.

**oOo**

They processed the crime scene at the house of Lieutenant Commander Joaquin Sanchez and his wife Alana. She had been murdered exactly the same way and Gibbs was, once again, in charge of delivering the bad news to her husband, who was stationed in the Gulf.

They returned to the bullpen, more determined than before to catch their UNSUB, but less hopeful that they would before another woman was killed.

"How did it go at the bank?" Gibbs asked Hotch and McGee, entering the bullpen.

"Flawlessly, Boss," McGee answered.

"Hopefully," Hotch added, "Prentiss is visiting her friend, Mia, for dinner and setting up our bugs and video feed in the house. DiNozzo will be going around in about an hour and a half, after Prentiss has left."

"Great," Gibbs answered, sitting at his desk sipping on his eighth cup of coffee for the day, "The sooner, the better."

The phone rang and Tony answered it, putting it on to speaker.

"Okay, my pretties," Garcia announced, "I am now streaming all footage to McGee's computer so he can bring it up on the screen."

"Thanks, Garcia," Hotch answered, hanging up.

"Wait, you guys are going to watch everything that's going on in that house?" Tony asked with a slightly fearful look on his face.

"No, don't worry, Tony," Morgan said patting his friend on the back, "Only Garcia and Abby have to watch, but I might go join them." Morgan smiled as Tony looked possibly homicidal. "With popcorn," he yelled out as he walked to the elevator.

"You should get ready to go, DiNozzo," Hotch announced as he flicked through the different camera angles that he had in the house, "And expect to be under surveillance."

"Sure," Tony replied, gritting his teeth as the screen flashed on to a view of the master bedroom. He got up and walked to the elevator, his superiors watching him leave.

**oOo**

Tony took a deep breath as he sat in his car outside Ziva's house. He gathered that if the UNSUB was watching, he should probably get a move on. He grabbed his wallet and phone, leaving his gun and badge in the glove box, and walked up to the front door of the Lucien residence, knocking twice.

Ziva answered, dressed in a black, strapless cocktail dress that clung to her tanned skin tightly, accentuating her magnificent curves.

"Wow, Z-Mia," Tony stated in awe, nearly forgetting what he was doing there, "You look amazing."

She smiled, placing her arms around his neck and pulling him into a deep, passionate kiss. He chuckled back, eagerly returning the kiss. _'I'm so confused,'_ Tony thought to himself as he happily followed Ziva into the house. He was still unsure of how he actually felt about his partner. Sure they had chemistry, and a lot of it, but he hadn't a single clue of what the future lay in store for them.

Once inside, Ziva led Tony upstairs to the master bedroom. _'Argh, we had better be under surveillance,'_ she thought angrily, _'This is not how I envisioned my relationship __with Tony to be.'_ Unsure of her own emotions, Ziva knew one thing. She did not want these fake moments with him. She wanted to try the real thing.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Tony pushing her up against the wall, bushing her hair and kissing her with a fiery passion. Clothes found themselves ripped off the body to which they clung as the pair hungrily moved their escapade to the bed.

**oOo**

"Are you guys watching the show?" Morgan shouted out as he walked into Abby's lab with McGee and JJ. He looked up at the screen, not seeing what he expected to. "Um, where's the show?"

"We're watching the outside of the house, Morgan," Garcia clarified wearily, "Where the killer is likely to be if he's watching. Is anyone else wondering how a Navy Lieutenant could have enough money to live in this neighbourhood, with the new S class Mercedes and his own driver?"

"Born into money," Morgan answered, "Director Shepard made the cover that way because it was easier. Come one, this is boring. Can we please watch something a little more... for lack of a better word, stimulating?"

"They're not porn stars, Morgan," Abby piped up as she flipped the house's interior cameras on to one of the other screens they had set up.

"Could have fooled me," Morgan answered as he took a seat on a stool, McGee and JJ choosing to stand, "Did you see the steamy introduction outside the house? We watched it upstairs until Gibbs flipped the video off. I think he wants to remain blissfully unaware."

"Gibbs is anything but ignorant," McGee stated as he flipped the bedroom camera on to the main screen by accident.

"MCGEE!" Garcia, Abby and JJ yelled out as Morgan cried "Yes!"

McGee tried anxiously to flick the camera off or change to another, but he was so apprehensive that he could not. Garcia rolled her chair over to him, pressed three keys and the footage had switched back to the outside camera.

"Oh come on," Morgan said, disappointed, "I even brought popcorn."

The three women simply glared at him.

"Fine," Morgan resigned, "Do you think they were naked?"

"Probably," McGee answered monotonously, "If the UNSUB has an infrared scanner or anything similar, he would be able to tell. What's great is all the information I'm getting for my next b-...log. Blog entry."

He was fortunate that the others dismissed his slip. He was not ready to reveal Deep Six to anyone.

"I don't see anything out of the ordinary," Abby announced, her eyes scanning through the footage being streamed to them from every outdoor camera.

"No cars, lights, people?" Reid asked, coming into the lab with Hotch.

"Nothing yet," Abby replied as she typed away at her keyboard, zooming in on certain parts of the video.

"How are they going in there?" Hotch asked as Rossi and Gibbs joined them.

"Great," Morgan announced excitedly as Gibbs hit him on the back of the head, "What was that?"

"You're down here to watch for the UNSUB," Gibbs replied authoritatively, "Not Girls of the Playboy Mansion."

"You get used to it," McGee whispered to him as Morgan rubbed the back of his head.

Hotch simply ignored the situation and stared at the screen. "Why do I get the feeling that he's there?"

"You're normally right, Hotch," Morgan answered.

"We can't do a drive-by," Gibbs said, "We might risk him taking off and we have nothing to arrest him with, yet."

"Unless Morgan and one of the techs do a drive-by and film the street and homes across the street, which we do not have a view of," Rossi suggested, "In an unmarked, plain vehicle. It's a residential area. So as long as he doesn't see the camera, he will be none the wiser."

"I agree," Hotch said, "Abby, will you go with Morgan?"

"Yay," Abby shouted, jumping to her feet, "Field work." She grabbed a handheld camcorder and ran up next Morgan. They walked out of the lab together, McGee tossing Morgan the keys to his new car.

"Abs," Gibbs called out, "Be careful."

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**A/N: Please Review, people. Please :)**


	7. A View to Kill

**Hey everyone. Thanks so much for all the reviews I got. The first few reviews came in during my Bio lecture. I jumped for joy and scared a few people. Oh well, LOL. Thanks. Here's the seventh chapter. It's a bit shorter than my others. Please keep reviewing- I write faster.**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from either NCIS or Criminal Minds and I'm not making a profit from this story.

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**Chapter Seven: A View to Kill**

Dark had definitely settled on the suburban neighbourhood when his target's lover finally showed up. He had laid there for hours, watching children ride by on their bicycles and housewives trying to get in five minutes of exercise with their dogs. He knew that nobody would find him or even be suspicious of his car. He had spent a few hours in the afternoon going door-to-door with the cover of a salesman.

In truth, he was looking for a driveway where he could park unsuspiciously. By luck, he had found a house across the road from his target's whose occupants where on holidays. He changed his disguise, telling the neighbours nearby that he was a friend of the holiday-makers and was leaving his car in their empty driveway overnight. With no reason to suggest that the well-groomed man was involved in any illicit activity, the neighbours simply went back to their daily activities none the wiser.

He changed in his dark Chevy into black clothes and lay in the trunk of his car, leaving the back seats down so he would have room to move. He had night-vision goggles, an infrared scanner and other equipment that he carried with him on each and every stakeout. He also had his notebook computer connected to mobile wireless internet with most of the software that he had created for the Navy.

He had taken holidays when he found out this his wife was cheating on him with their mortgage advisor from the Capital Banking Corporation. At first he only killed wives who were cheating on their husbands. But now, he found far greater satisfaction in brutalising the cheating wives of honourable Navy seamen.

Through his talks with members of the gated community, he found out that his next victim, Mia Lucien, was the wife of a wealthy Navy Lieutenant who had just returned from a tour in Iraq. They had only just moved in the day before. There was a woman with her earlier, he assumed a friend, and the husband had not been seen since the bank. Patiently, he waited. Waited for the lover that he knew existed, to turn up. Women like this had a certain look in their eyes when they spoke to their husbands. He saw it all the time with his wife. It told him that they were thinking about someone else. Tonight, he would watch the unspeakable act. Tomorrow, he would take the woman's life.

**oOo**

"All ready to go, Abs," Morgan asked as he buckled into his chosen black sedan, deciding not to take McGee's Porsche Boxster.

"Camera, check. Night vision, check. Caf-Pow, check. Seat belt, check."

Morgan chuckled as he drove out of the Navy Yard. They drove to the Lucien house, the only noise being heard during the trip was Abby sucking away at her favourite drink.

They arrived in Connecticut Lane and drove slowly through the street, Morgan pretending to be looking for a particular house number, while Abby worked with her equipment and tried to see if someone was hiding in any of the trees around the house.

They made one lap of the street without seeing anything out of the ordinary. Morgan pulled into a side street as Abby dialled Gibbs' number.

"We're gonna go through again," Abby told him and hung up before he could argue.

"What are you waiting for, Derek?!" Abby then yelled at Morgan, who had an incredulous look on his face, "Drive!"

Silently disagreeing with Abby, Morgan did a U-turn and drove back into the street.

**oOo**

The dark trunk of his Chevy was starting to get very uncomfortable, but it would not sway him from his ultimate goal. He had run the faces of his victim, her husband, lover and friend through the facial recognition software that he designed for the Navy. However, the identities of his victims were not expected.

"Hello, Jethro," he said to himself as the computer brought up the dossiers of Mossad Officer Ziva David and NCIS Special Agents Anthony DiNozzo and Timothy McGee. It had been a long time since he had been forced to work with the NCIS team leader. He should have known that NCIS would pick up his trail a lot faster than Metro PD.

'_Foolish FBI agents,'_ he thought to himself as his computer showed him the dossier of FBI Supervisory Special Agent Emily Prentiss, his target's friend.

He tore himself away from the computer screen to continue to watch his target. NCIS agent or not, he was going to make her his final victim. He knew that NCIS was closing in and he wanted to go out with a bang.

He was watching them again for no longer than five minutes before he saw a black sedan drive very slowly through the street. He lowered his night vision apparatus a little and made sure that he was still hidden. They drove past without taking a second look at his car, but he could see that the woman in the passenger seat had a camera. He drew in a deep breath as they drove off, but no more than two minutes later, they turned around and drove back, stopping at the other end of the street.

"That's it," he muttered to himself, moving out of the trunk and into the back seat. He sat up, grabbing a length of road spikes from his kit and slowly opened the door and ran into the darkness. He knew that they would come back around, so he strategically lay the spikes on the road where it would be most difficult for the driver to swerve. He did this quickly and in the shadows, so he would not be seen.

Happy with his handiwork, he ran back to his car, sitting in the driver's seat and preparing himself to make a dash from the scene. His kill could wait until tomorrow.

**oOo**

"Let's go through one last time," Abby suggested stubbornly, "Then we can go back to NCIS."

"Fine," Morgan announced, defeated, "There's no arguing with you, anyway."

He put the car back into 'Drive' and did another U-turn. He slowed down so that Abby could get a good shot of all of the houses and cars outside the Lucien residence.

"Are we good?" he asked as Abby lowered her camera.

"We're good," she replied happily. Suddenly, they drove over mound in the road, the tyres skidding out from beneath them. Morgan tried to regain control of the car, but the last thing he saw was Abby's smile fading into horror as he braced himself for impact.

**A/N: Ok do you honeslty think that I would harm Abby? ... :) Please review. Also, I'm thinking of a subplot, perhaps for future fics, and I want to knwo how many McAbby fans are reading this story. Let me know.**


	8. The Party's Over

**Hi people. Thank you all so much for the reviews. I absolutely love getting them. I'm still unsure about whether or not I wanna do McAbby. Anway, I watched Recoil for the first time last night (I missed it when it was aired in Aus and that made me sad) and I realised how strikingly similar the case in that episode and this case are. The Navy wives, their affairs, the serial killer out for revenge, Ziva undercover, the serrated knife... need I go on. I swear that it wasn't done on purpose. But, I loved the episode anyway, even though it was a shocker for TIVA. And I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's a bit longer to make up for the last one that was short.**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from either NCIS or Criminal Minds and I am not making a profit from this story.

* * *

**Chapter Eight: The Party's Over**

_Suddenly, they drove over mound in the road, the tyres skidding out from beneath them. Morgan tried to regain control of the car, but the last thing he saw was Abby's smile fading into horror as he braced himself for impact._

The car swerved, mounting the kerb at a reasonably high velocity and slamming head-on into a tree. Abby felt her body jerk forward, but the seat-belt kept her firmly in place. She closed her eyes as they impacted, opening them again to see that the airbag had deflated and there was smoke spewing out of the bonnet.

She turned to look at Morgan. He was conscious, but in a daze, having hit the back of his head hard on the head rest when the airbags went off.

"You okay, Abs?" he managed to get out.

"I think so," she replied, still checking her body over for injuries.

Meanwhile, their UNSUB moved sneakily through the shadows that the trees created in the deserted street, pulling the spikes off the road and making a mad dash back to his car as people started coming out of their houses to find out what the source of the noise was. Since it was 2230, most people were in their pyjamas and dressing gowns.

He stealthily backed his car out of the driveway and drove down the street and away from the scene. Bystanders were not watching his car, they were more intent on checking out the two people who emerged from the wreckage five houses down.

"Call Gibbs," Morgan told Abby as he stumbled out the car, still a little unsure of himself, but regaining a clearer mind every second. A maternal figure dashed towards him as he sat on the kerb a few metres from their car.

"Are you okay?" the woman said as she knelt in front of Morgan, "I'm a nurse. Are you feeling dizzy?"

Abby's phone call to Gibbs had just been answered.

"Okay, Gibbs," she began, trying to sound bright and happy, "Don't get mad or worried, but you should probably get down here with the others. And maybe the EMTs. We sorta had a bit of an accident."

"What kind of accident, Abby?!" Gibbs shouted back loud enough for Morgan, who was three metres away, to hear.

"Our car hit a tree," she replied simply and earnestly. She heard Gibbs click his phone shut and assumed he was sprinting to his car, the rest of the team with him, ready to kill Morgan for crashing.

**oOo**

"What was that?" Ziva questioned, causing Tony's push-ups to cease as he fell on top of her naked, "Get off me. I heard something." She moved out from under him and walked to the window, forgetting that she was not wearing anything. Tony, choosing not to make her aware of this, simply lay on his side, his elbow propping his head up, admiring the view.

"Something happened out there," Ziva announced, then, realising that she was naked, viciously grabbed her silk dressing gown and threw it over herself. Tony sighed, moving out from underneath the sheets. He pulled his boxers and jeans on and walking over to the window. He placed his arms around her waist and pulled her close, softly kissing her neck as he did so. Ziva found herself powerless to stop him. He trailed kisses up and down her neck, slowly pulling her closer and closer.

Their intimate moment, however, was interrupted by a vibration in the pocket of Tony's jeans. He pulled out his cell phone to reveal that McGee was calling.

"Thanks a lot, McGeek," he spat into the phone. Ziva chose that moment to bring herself back to reality and pull away from him.

"Morgan and Abby had an accident outside your place," McGee said quickly.

"I can sort of see it," Tony replied, craning his head out of the open window to get a better look, "Are they okay?"

"Yeah," McGee answered, "Abby called us. Gibbs wants you to stay put inside the house. He said he'll call you soon and remember you're under surveillance."

"Sure thing, Probalicious," Tony replied, slightly peeved that McGee had ruined a perfect moment. He angrily shut his phone and threw it on the armchair by the wardrobe. "Where were we?" he said seductively, grabbing her hips and pulling her close.

"What did McGee say?" Ziva asked forcefully, finding it difficult to focus when Tony was playing with her so.

"Morgan and Abby were in the accident outside, but they're fine," Tony answered quickly and quietly, "Gibbs wants us to stay put."

Ziva pulled away from him to look out the window again, but Tony held her to his body, leaning in for a kiss. He stopped, although, just millimetres from her lips, waiting for her to reciprocate his actions. As much as she wanted to resist the urges she felt for him, his waiting lips were just too irresistible. She closed the distance between them, capturing his lips in a passionate, yet very loving kiss.

'_I should not be doing this,'_ Ziva told herself once again. She had been doing so all evening. Contrary to popular belief, the evening that they had shared together had not shed light on her current predicament. She still did not know how she felt about her partner deep down, but she could feel the attraction burning in the room.

'_God, I don't know why this feels so right,'_ Tony thought deep down as Ziva ran her fingers through his hair. He ran his fingers down the outside of her gown, daring himself to adventure deeper. _'You definitely should not be doing this,'_ his conscience screamed at him as he undid the tie around her gown.

Ziva responded by deepening the kiss, her hands fumbling around with the zipper on Tony's jeans. Tony walked backwards, pulling his partner back towards the bed as he removed the piece of cloth that stood between him and her body. Tony fell back as his leg hit the edge of the bed, Ziva falling on top of him, still struggling to get his jeans off. She managed to undo the zipper and he madly kicked them off, followed by his boxers. She grabbed the sheets and threw them over the two agents.

Ziva knew that this was very different to the last time they went undercover. It was more intimate, there was more emotion. She found herself wondering, hoping even, 

that they would go further this time, but knew that they were being watched and it was something that Gibbs most definitely would not allow.

**oOo**

"I'm telling you," Abby was yelling again, "We ran over something."

"There's nothing there, Abby," Gibbs yelled back. He was still blaming Morgan, who had since been dragged to hospital by Hotch, for the incident.

"Wait a sec, boss," McGee called out from behind the car, "The tyres have been visibly slashed. Road spikes, it looks like."

Gibbs turned his back on Abby and trampled over to what McGee was pointing at.

"Do you think our UNSUB knows that we planted the agents here?" Rossi questioned as he walked up behind Gibbs, ferociously scribbling down notes as he walked.

"If that is the case, then it's no point keeping David there," Gibbs answered as he bent over to get a better look at the tyres.

"I agree," Rossi replied, putting his notebook back into his pocket, "We should get her out of there in the morning. I doubt he'll come back now that this has happened, but just in case, leave her there under surveillance. DiNozzo can probably come out now."

"I'll give him a call," Gibbs told him, walking away from the scene and pulling out his cell phone.

**oOo**

Tony and Ziva were rolling around, tangled in the bed sheets and caught up in a moment of furiously passionate kisses. Tony's cell phone was, once again, a source of interruption. He rolled his partner on to her back and slowly spun off of her. He quickly pulled his boxers on and answered his phone.

"Yeah," he said into the receiver quickly.

"We're all fine here," Gibbs replied, "But it appears he knows about this operation. Tell David that she is to leave the house tomorrow at 1000 and come straight back to NCIS. You can leave tonight."

"If it's alright, boss," Tony began uncertainly, "I'd like to stay the night and make sure that everything's okay."

"I wanna see you by 0800 tomorrow morning, DiNozzo," Gibbs answered, immediately regretting letting his senior agent spend the night with his partner. Whilst he wanted to believe that they would remain professional throughout this entire affair, he knew the connection that existed between them, taking him back to Paris, when he was with Jenny.

"Thanks, boss," Tony replied, hanging up.

Ziva looked at her partner with an appreciative glance. She did not want him to stay if it jeopardised the mission, but at the same time, she wanted to spend every moment with him and was so happy that he was staying the night. She smiled, walking up to him and pulling his shoulders back towards the bed.

"Sleep, I think, is what we need now," she told him as she lay down in the bed, pulling him down beside her. Tony replied by placing his arms around her and pulling her close. Slowly, she drifted off to sleep, not at all worried about their serial killer. She felt safe and at home in Tony's strong arms.

**oOo**

Ziva woke up late the following morning, wondering how she slept for so long. She heard the shower going, knowing that Tony would probably want to be clean when he finally had to face Gibbs. She rolled over to face the clock.

"0700," she muttered to herself, "Wow, I did sleep."

Tony walked out of the bathroom, dressed in the clothes that he wore the night before.

"I have to go," he told her as he picked up his wallet, cell phone and keys. She walked him downstairs to the front door and opened it for him.

"I'll see you later, then," Ziva answered stiffly.

Tony nodded and then swooped down and placed a light kiss on her lips. It was completely unexpected, since both knew that they were probably no longer under surveillance, but Tony found that he felt compelled to do it. Ziva smiled as he walked out the door. She closed and locked it behind him, walking back upstairs to have a shower, still smiling widely.

She showered quickly, changed and walked back downstairs to eat breakfast. She was glad that the probationary agents at NCIS had stocked the house with food as she cooked a blintz soufflé. She ate quickly, since it took her over an hour to cook and walked back upstairs to do her hair before she went in to NCIS.

She felt that she was starting to miss Tony, knowing that this was a sign that she her feelings towards him were of more than just a friendship. She found herself contemplating all possible avenues she could take with him in the future as she grabbed the TV remote and flicked it on to a music channel. She hardly watched TV, but found the music soothing.

She walked into the ensuite bathroom to get ready for work as a familiar, and definitely fitting, song came on to the TV.

_That's how much I love you  
That's how much I need you  
And I can't stand you  
Must everything you do make me wanna smile  
Can I not like you for awhile? (No...)_

But you won't let me  
You upset me girl  
And then you kiss my lips

_All of a sudden I forget (that I was upset)  
Can't remember what you did_

Ziva stopped what she was doing and walked out to her bedroom, staring at the TV screen. "How is it that the TV knows more about my feelings than I do?" she thought aloud.

_But I hate it...  
You know exactly what to do  
So that I can't stay mad at you  
For too long that's wrong_

_But I hate it...  
You know exactly how to touch  
So that I don't want to fuss.. and fight no more  
Said I despise that I adore you_

_And I hate how much I love you boy (yeah...)  
I can't stand how much I need you (I need you...)  
And I hate how much I love you boy (oh whoa..)  
But I just can't let you go  
And I hate that I love you so (oh..)  
_

'_Okay,'_ she thought inwardly, _'I'm gonna turn you off if you keep talking.'_ She decided to make her bed, finding that she could not help but listen to the words of the song.

_  
You completely know the power that you have  
__The only one makes me laugh_

Said it's not fair  
How you take advantage of the fact  
That I... love you beyond the reason why  
And it just ain't right

And I hate how much I love you girl  
I can't stand how much I need you (yeah..)  
And I hate how much I love you girl  
But I just can't let you go  
But I hate that I love you so

One of these days maybe your magic won't affect me  
And your kiss won't make me weak  
But no one in this world knows me the way you know me  
So you'll probably always have a spell on me...

Yeah... Oh...

That's how much I love you (as much as I need you)  
That's how much I need you (oh..)  
That's how much I love you (oh..)  
As much as I need you

Ziva found that she was swaying to the music.

_  
And I hate that I love you so  
And I hate how much I love you boy  
I can't stand how much I need you (can't stand how much I need you)-_

The music cut out as Ziva realised the TV had switched off. She turned around, knowing that she had reacted too late, to find herself face to face with a gun barrel.

"Make a single move, Officer David," the man in a balaclava told her, "And I will blow your brains out."_  
_

**A/N: Okay, I didn't mean to end on another cliffhanger. Okay, yeah I did. I think Tony's gonna wish he hadn't left now. Please review.**


	9. Catching Smoke with Your Bare Hands

**Hey everyone. Thanks for the fab reviews. They really make my day. Well, this case is drawing to a close, though it probably won't be the end of the story. I want to keep going into Hiatus. The end of season 3 (NCIS) will probably mark the end of this story, but do not worry, I plan on writing a sequel-ish story for TIVA set between Hiatus and Shalom and probably the rest of season 4. So stay tuned. Hope you like this chapter and please review.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything from either NCIS or Criminal Minds and I'm not making a profit from this story.**

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**Chapter Nine: Catching Smoke with Your Bare Hands**

Tony was worried as he looked at his watch again. It was 1030 and Ziva still hadn't arrived. It was only a fifteen minute drive to the house she was at and if Ziva hadn't left before ten, Tony would eat his computer. He knew something was wrong, she wasn't picking up her cell or answering the home phone, but didn't want to appear overly concerned. Instead, he found himself absently reading the recent traffic updates, hoping to find some logical explanation for why Ziva was running late. He found none.

"Ziva in yet?" Gibbs asked Tony as he walked into the bullpen with a coffee in one hand and a manila folder in the other.

"Not yet, boss," Tony answered apprehensively, "She's not answering her cell phone either."

"We could be wrong, Jethro," Jenny announced as she walked down the stairs with Hotch.

"Perhaps he did return," Hotch said in a low voice, "One last kill."

Gibbs was now starting to look worried. He threw the remaining coffee into the bin and walked towards the elevator.

"You coming, or what?" he questioned as he banged the button to open the elevator doors. Hotch, Prentiss and Tony ran over to follow him.

"What's the chance that our killer has Ziva?" Tony asked Hotch worriedly.

Prentiss shot them a confused look. "Isn't Ziva in yet?"

Tony shook his head to answer her as Hotch answered his question.

"He is not going to stop until we catch him," Hotch told them, "If he knows that we are this close to catching him, which he probably does, he will want to end it on his terms."

"If that's true," Tony began, feeling the anger rise in his voice, "Then why did you let her stay there."

"We thought he would run," Hotch answered simply, "And make us chase him. We did not think he would choose to fight head-on."

"How about now?" Tony asked, quite rudely.

Gibbs shot him the Gibbs-look and Tony took that as a sign that he should shut up.

"We'll find her," Emily announced positively after a few moments of silence, "Alive."

Tony looked at her appreciatively as the elevator doors opened and they walked to their car.

**oOo**

Ziva was dazed from the hit, still falling in and out of consciousness. She knew that they were driving. She could see the sun's shining rays as she lay on the back seat of the man's Chevy.

He had the gun pointed at her head and told her to turn around. She obeyed him, desperately thinking of a way out. He told her to walk towards the stairs and then, without warning, struck her across the back of her head with the handle of his gun. She fell to the ground, teetering on the edges of consciousness.

He felt her lift her body up and discreetly carry him to his car. It was 0900, so most of the neighbourhood were either at work or dropping the kids off at school. Nevertheless, he made sure that nobody was around when he shoved her into the back of his car.

Ziva did not know how long they had been driving for, but she knew that they had just stopped. He opened the back passenger side door and dragged her lifeless body out, throwing her over his shoulders and carry her into his house. She was starting to come to again as he strapped her to a chair and placed duck tape over her mouth.

"Don't speak," he said as he looked her square in the eyes. He smiled at his own joke, while Ziva looked more determined to get free.

"I know full well that you are Mossad," he continued in his malicious voice, "Rest assured, that is not going to help you. And I have no plans to be alive long enough to deal with the fallout."

She could not do anything but stare at him, hoping he would keep talking long enough for Gibbs to find her.

"I just have one question for you," he then said after a few moments, "Are you afraid? There was always this look that the other women had in their eyes. It was fear and I laughed at it. All they wanted to do was beg for mercy." He slowly pulled the duck tape off. Ziva chose to remain silent.

"You can scream you know. Nobody's going to hear you."

Ziva mind was going at a million miles an hour, but, remembering her training, she knew that there were two types of people that were hard to break. The longer she could hold out, she assumed, the longer she would live. She could remain silent, saying absolutely nothing at all, or she could talk with confidence and without fear. The latter was a facade of bravery that was far easier to overcome, so she remained silent. On the other hand, he may get bored and decide to kill her more quickly. _'So many choices, so little time,'_ Ziva's conscience told her.

"Not a big talker, ay?" he asked as he pulled some hair away from her face and tucked in behind her ear. She turned away from touch, but found that the restraints did not allow her to move far. He chuckled lightly and continued to speak. "We'll soon change that."

Ziva knew that the torture was coming. She had seen the horrible things that he did to his other victims before he killed them. She had learnt to cope with pain and not divulge anything, but there is only so much the human body could take. She lingered in her previous position, very still and silent.

**oOo**

"Signs of a struggle, boss," Tony announced as he walked into the master bedroom. Emily had followed him and was now checking out the ensuite bathroom.

"In here, too," she told them as the team leaders sprinted into the room.

"How are we supposed to find out where he took her?" Tony asked, feeling the fear rise in his voice, "We don't even know who he is?"

"Go and see if any of the neighbours saw or heard anything," Gibbs ordered, taking charge of the situation. Tony and Emily nodded and headed downstairs quickly. Hotch and Gibbs heard the door slam as they walked outside.

"We don't know how quickly he'll kill her," Hotch told the other agent, "But we do know that he is in a rush and spending less time with each of his victims."

"There's no telling if she's still alive," Gibbs concluded sadly, "Let's go."

Outside, Tony was talking to an old lady that lived next door to the Lucien house. "Emily," he called out to his partner, who walked over in his direction.

"Can you describe the car?" Tony asked apprehensively as Emily came and stood beside him.

"It was a black Chevy," she answered, "I know because my son-in-law used to drive-"

Tony cut her off. "Do you remember a licence plate number?"

"Only the last three letters," she replied, slightly disconcerted, "N-A-V."

Tony grabbed out his phone and rang McGee.

"Special Agent McGee," he said as answered the phone on his desk.

"Probie," Tony shouted into the phone, "Run a plate with the last three letters N-A-V. November, Alpha, Victor."

He heard McGee type furiously away at his computer. "Okay," McGee then said after a few seconds, "Got five registered black Chevy's in the DC area."

Seeing Hotch and Gibbs walking towards them, Tony put his phone on loud speaker.

"Wait a sec," they heard Garcia's voice say, "I've got a hit on one of these owners. US Navy Lieutenant Commander Jack Ryell. He reported his wife missing four weeks ago. He has been on leave for the past three weeks."

"Address, Garcia," Gibbs shouted into the phone.

"25 Pearson Street, Takoma," she answered quickly.

Tony closed the phone as they sprinted to the car. Gibbs jumped into the driver's seat and had started the car before the other agents were even sitting down. He shoved his foot down on the accelerator hard and took off down the street.

**oOo**

Ryell was playing with his knife, flicking in between his fingers. "Are you going to talk or are you just going to sit there?"

"I would prefer to just sit here," Ziva answered finally, after at least an hour of silence, "I am contemplating how long it would be before you kill me."

"No fear," he replied, getting to his feet, "Interesting. Very interesting. Are you not afraid to die?"

Ziva, once again, did not answer his question.

"I wonder then, what are you afraid of?" he whispered in her ear. He bought the knife up to neck, resting it just under her ear. He smiled as he cut the skin along the left side of her neck. The wound was superficial, but was starting to bleed profusely. "Now are you scared?"

Ziva was trying to stay focused, but her neck was throbbing and she could feel her head falling to the side. He smiled, knowing that he had finally achieved what he always aimed to. She would not fight back.

He walked away from her again, his back turned, then spun around to face her once more. He walked behind her, wrapping the arm brandishing the knife around her neck.

"Goodbye, Officer David."

**A/N: Please review. Show me some love.**


	10. Case Closed

**Hey everyone. It seemed that people wanted to update soon, so I wrote this chapter in all my spare moments over the past two days. Hope you enjoy it. Please review.**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything from either NCIS or Criminal Minds and I'm not making a profit from this story.**

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**Chapter Ten: Case Closed**

_He walked behind her, wrapping the arm brandishing the knife around her neck. _

"_Goodbye, Officer David."_

Ryell heard a loud bang. He looked up to see the locked door shaking as someone from the other side shoved it open.

"Drop the knife!" Tony yelled out through the door. He had not managed to kick it open yet, but he did kick a giant hole in the middle. He aimed his weapon through the gap.

"You can't get a shot off from that angle," Ryell replied, turning back to Ziva.

Three shots rang out simultaneously. Tony had fired two, but his angle meant that they were wide of his target. Emily, who seemingly appeared out of nowhere, had shot Ryell square between the eyes.

"Whoa," Tony said as he managed to knock down the door with Gibbs' and Hotch's help, "Where did you come from?"

"There was a door to the basement around back," Emily answered simply as she helped Tony unbuckle the restraints around Ziva, "It was unlocked and to think that you three came the long way around."

"EMTs are on their way," Gibbs announced, walking over to his injured agent. Tony and Emily helped her up.

"Are you feeling dizzy?" Emily asked her.

"Not so much," Ziva replied, her neck sore and still throbbing, "It did not bleed too much."

They helped her outside the house as the rest of the teams' members arrived along with the EMTs. A crowd was now gathering around at the front of the house as McGee, Morgan and Reid worked quickly with Metro police officers to secure the crime scene.

Tony walked with Ziva to the ambulance, his arm holding hers tightly. She sat in the back of the ambulance while one of the paramedics attended to the wound on the side of her neck.

"You may need some stitches," the young woman told her, "The top of this cut is quite deep."

"Can I ride with her to Bethesda?" Tony asked anxiously.

The young woman nodded and went to speak with her colleague.

"You do not have to stay, Tony," Ziva began, obviously tired by the morning's ordeal, "I am fine."

"I'm staying," he reiterated.

"Thank you for finding me," Ziva then told him, slightly abashed.

"Well, it's not like I could lose two partners in one year," Tony joked lightly, "I'd get a bad rap for that. Nobody would want to work with me anymore."

"So your reasons for staying are entirely selfish?" Ziva asked with a smile.

"Of course," Tony replied quickly.

"Alright there, David?" Gibbs asked as he came around to the back of the ambulance.

"I am fine," Ziva repeated, "It's just a flesh wound. They said I need a couple of stitches."

"Is there a reason you're just sitting here, DiNozzo?" Gibbs then asked, turning to Tony.

"I was gonna ride with Ziva to the hospital, boss," Tony answered astutely.

Gibbs did not answer, but simply stared back at Tony.

He was about to cave, but at the last moment, chose to defend his reasoning. For some reason, he did not want to let Ziva out of his sight after what had just happened. He felt guilty about it, that was clear, after all, he left her alone and went back to NCIS, but he couldn't help but notice that there was something more to it.

"I'm going with her," Tony began as he straightened up, "Because Ziva is my partner. Is that okay with you?"

Gibbs said nothing and walked away from him. Ziva smiled at him as the paramedic came back, closing the back doors, leaving Tony and Ziva alone in the back of the ambulance.

**oOo**

Ziva found herself sitting up on the edge of a bed in the emergency room of Bethesda Naval Hospital awaiting the resident to arrive and stitch up her neck wound. Tony had gone to get coffee from the coffee cart in the lobby, so Ziva was alone. She found herself contemplating her near death experience and what the team would be like without her.

She'd hoped Tony would miss her. After last night's undercover rendezvous, she wondered what would have changed between them. There was obviously a lot of intense emotion involved in their relationship, but she recognised that whatever they had together, it could not be pursued. _'Rule 12,'_ Ziva told herself, _'We could never hide it from Gibbs.'_

Then there was her father. Oh, what he would say if he found out that she feel for an American man, but what did he expect when he signed off on her release? _'So much uncertainty,'_ Ziva contemplated, _'Where do we go from here?'_

"Hey," Tony said as he walked towards the cubicle she was in, "Obviously, the doctor hasn't been in yet."

"No," Ziva replied, "I checked my cell phone. You called me eighteen times. Did you not think that I would have called you back if I could?"

"That's why I was so worried," Tony explained, taking a seat next to her on the bed. He tucked a piece of her hair that had become stuck in the gauze back behind her ear. She found herself leaning into his touch, her cheek resting in his palm. She looked into his eyes, feeling all fears about their future leave her.

"How are you feeling, Officer David?" a young man said as he entered the cubicle, pulling back the curtains. Ziva and Tony quickly pulled away from each other. The young doctor was dressed in light blue scrubs and a white lab coat.

"I will be better when I can go," she answered, still reeling over another misspent moment with Tony.

The doctor smiled and took the gauze patch off her neck. A nurse wheeled in a trolley with an array of medical equipment on its upper shelf. He cleaned the cut as the nurse prepared the sutures for stitching. It only took the doctor five minutes to stitch the two inch wound on Ziva's neck closed. Tony soothed Ziva's anxiety about it by stroking her left arm softly.

"I need you to sign some forms and then you can go," the doctor told her as he finished up, "I will want to see you in a week's time to remove them."

He walked out of the cubicle, leaving the nurse behind to clean up. "I'll be right back with those forms," she then told them and wheeled the trolley out.

"Emily's picking us up," Tony announced as Ziva finished off signing the form. They walked out of the hospital together and in the direction of Ziva's red Mini Cooper with Emily sitting in the driver's seat. They chatted animatedly as Emily first drove to Tony's building and then home to the Capital Building with Ziva.

**oOo**

"So, what happened last night?" Emily said later that evening. She was sitting around the kitchen bench in Ziva's condo as Ziva filled her dishwasher with the used dishes from the dinner she had made for the both of them. "Come on, I want all the juicy details."

"I am not telling," Ziva answered as she placed a plate at the back of the dishwasher, "There is nothing to tell anyway."

Ziva had received a phone call from Gibbs earlier to let her know that they had wrapped up the Ryell case. The BAU team would be going home, in a manner, but Ziva knew that what this case had done for her. Not only did she get to experience emotions that were quite new to her, but she had also begun a firm friendship with her neighbour and sometime colleague. She finished fiddling around with the dishes and walked to the fridge. "Glass of wine?"

"Sure," Emily answered brightly, "Why not?"

Ziva brought out a chilled bottle of Merlot and two wine glasses, pouring them a generous portion each.

"Okay, look Z," Emily began, taking another stab at gossip, "I saw some of the surveillance footage from the house. Pretty steamy stuff."

"Was it really, Em?" Ziva answered, trying hard to sound as though she did not want to talk about it, but she knew that Emily was now a close friend and it would probably feel good to voice some of her concerns. _'At least this way, Em can tell me how stupid I am,'_ Ziva's inner voice told her.

"I'm just saying," Emily continued, "It looked like whatever was happening between you two was pretty intense."

"It felt that way, too," Ziva admitted, quite sorrowfully.

Emily found it hard to suppress a screech of glee. Not only was her new friend finally opening up about herself, which she guessed did not happen often, but she could tell Morgan she was right about them. _'Wait, no,'_ her inner voice said loudly, _'You can't tell anybody about this. You're somebody's confidante.'_

"He kissed me this morning," Ziva continued as her fingers drew circles around the edge of her wine glass, "It was nice. He did not even have to do it. We would not have been under surveillance anymore. Did he only to it to keep up appearances?"

"Honest, truth?" Emily asked and Ziva nodded, "I don't think so. You should've seen him when you were missing. I've rarely seen a man so stressed and anxious, and I know human behaviour. These deep emotions, Z, they're not one-sided."

"It does not matter," Ziva told her, "There are rules. Gibbs has rules. It is just confusing. Where do we go from here?"

"Well," Emily contemplated, "Tomorrow's Saturday and we have the day off work. I think some retail therapy is in order." Noticing the confused look on Ziva's face, Emily clarified what she meant. "Shopping."

"I do not shop," Ziva told her.

"I don't care," Emily replied forcefully, "You're coming. Pen's dragging Abby along and JJ is bringing the car. It may not be LA, but we're still gonna shop in style."

Ziva smiled weakly, not entirely sure that this would spell fun for her.

"It'll be great," Emily assured, "All of us girls cruising the town. Meeting handsome men, maybe picking up a bargain and lunch at a nice restaurant. Trust me, you'll enjoy it."

Ziva gave in.

"Great," Emily announced as she finished off the last mouthfuls of her wine, "I'm gonna go to bed. I will see you at 0900 tomorrow morning. Probably beforehand. JJ will pick us up at 0930."

Ziva walked her friend back to her own condo and then returned to her own. She smiled as she bolted the door shut, no longer worried about her near death experience, now happy about the joyous events of the day.

* * *

**A/N: And some people thought I would kill off Ziva. She's my fav character. Of course, I would not do that. And then what would I do with Tony? LOL. Please review.**


	11. Don't Cry, Buy a Bag and Get Over It

**Hey everyone. Sorry about the late update but I've had studying and cleaning to do. So here's the marathon shopping adventure. Ahahaha. I went shopping with my best friend/sister and decided to channel Ziva so I could write this chapter. Let's just say that my friend no lonoger wants to take me shopping, but that won't last long. :) Hope you enjoy this. There's about 3 chapters left of this story. Please review.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anythign from either NCIS or Criminal Minds and I am not making a profit from this story.**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: Don't Cry, Buy a Bag and Get Over It**

Emily was banging down Ziva's front door at 0730 the following the morning.

"Is there a reason that you are here?" Ziva asked tiredly when she finally answered the door.

"I saw you finish your run and I wanted to see what you were planning to wear on our gigantic shopping marathon today?" Emily replied excitedly as she pushed her way past Ziva and into her the living room of her friend's condo, "You know we should just key each other. It saves knocking and having to answer the door."

Ziva looked slightly confused by Emily's use of the word 'key' in that sentence, but then, understanding it meant swapping house keys, she chose a witty reply. "Why? If I want to get into your condo that desperately, then I will just pick the lock."

Emily conceded her point with a slight nod. "You have to show me how to do that."

"I'm going to have a shower," Ziva announced walking out of the room.

"That's fine," Emily called back, "I'll just sift through your clothes and find something nice."

Ziva's head popped out of the bathroom door, a mortified look sculpted on her face. But, instead of ranting disapprovingly, she shrugged, giving in to her friend's seemingly unnatural urges.

Ziva showered slowly, trying hard not to get her sutures wet and came out of the bathroom to see that Emily had laid out her white pants and a mottle green halter top on her bed, freshly ironed. There was a note laying beside it.

_Z,  
Desperately wanted nice coffee, so I went to Starbucks across the road.  
I'll pick you up something._

_-Emily._

Ziva smiled as she changed quickly and attempted to dry her hair, but found that her neck wound was irritating her as she tried.

Emily walked into her bedroom carrying two coffees and a paper bag.

"I'll do that," she announced, putting the coffees and bag down on Ziva's bedside table, "Actually I think straight would look great."

"Are you going to torture me because I cannot dry my own hair?" Ziva asked emphatically, "And how did you get in?"

"Took your keys," Emily answered as she ran out of the room and back to her own condo, bringing back her GHD.

She plugged it in and then grabbed the chair from Ziva's dressing table and pointed at it. "Sit."

Ziva complied, knowing she wouldn't be able to get her hair done any other way. They sipped their coffee and chatted animatedly while Emily dried and straightened Ziva's hair. It turned out that the paper bag contained bagels and jam, which they both thoroughly enjoyed.

JJ, Garcia and Abby turned up at 0915, all commenting on how nice Ziva looked. Abby knew to avoid using 'pretty' and 'Ziva' in the same sentence, but the same could not be said for the other two. She merely gave them a narrow look downwards while Emily grabbed her handbag and locked her condo. They set off down the elevator and into the undercover carpark, where the black Mercedes convertible waited for them.

"Sweet ride, Jayje," Emily told them, "Can I drive?"

"Sure," JJ replied, tossing her the car keys, "I wanted to sit in the middle back seat anyway."

JJ jumped into the car, Garcia and Abby hopping in on either side of her, which left Emily and Ziva in the front.

"Oh, this is gonna be so much fun," Abby announced as they roared out of the carpark and down the street.

**oOo**

"Okay," Emily announced as she ripped open the curtains, "This one."

"Definitely not," Ziva answered, clearly bored as she sat on the comfortable lounge in the fourth clothes store they had visited in an hour and a half. With no interest in trying clothes on, she was saddled with the job of holding Emily's and JJ's bags. Abby and Penelope had ditched them in the second store in search of caffeine and had not been seen since.

"Please tell me that you have no intention of wearing that," Ziva continued incredulously as the shop assistant crowed about how good Emily looked in the dress, "ANYWHERE."

"Come on, Z," Emily pleaded, "It looks nice. I've changed my mind. I am never dragging you shopping again. Can you at least be useful?"

"Okay," Ziva admitted, "Where would you wear it? On a case, yes?"

Emily threw her hands down, conceding Ziva's point. "See, this is why I bring you along." And she stalked back inside the change room. "Wait, Z, I wanna try one more thing on."

Ziva groaned as she repeatedly hit her back against the wall behind her.

"Are you having a seizure?" JJ asked, carrying half a dozen clothes on coat hangers in her arms, "Next store, Ziva, you are trying something on."

"Oh, you will have to kill me first," Ziva replied, "If I see something I like, then maybe."

"No," JJ pushed, "If I see something I like on you then you will try it on. Don't think I won't incapacitate you first."

The two agents laughed as Emily exited the change room back in her own clothes. "Yeah, you two do not wanna see what that dress looked like on."

Ziva and JJ laughed hysterically at Emily's embarrassment as she handed the many clothes she had tried on back to the shop assistant. JJ pulled out her credit card and paid for her outfits while Emily pointed out another shop across the street.

They were there for less than five minutes before Ziva wanted to leave, but JJ was convinced that this was Ziva's shop. She found herself shoved into the change room by a very pushy assistant as masses of clothes were slipped through the curtain's opening on to a hook in the small space.

Ziva knew that she was not going to leave without buying something, so she settled with trying these forsaken clothes on and buying whatever JJ and Emily liked the most. She shuddered as she looked at the first skirt and blouse put into the room. _'Who picked this?'_ her inner voice screamed. She skipped over it and went to the second outfit. A beautiful green dress, not unlike the one she had worn when she was undercover the first time with Tony.

JJ shrieked as Ziva, who was left wondering how her two FBI friends could be so girly, exited the room in the dress.

"That looks fabulous," the boisterous and pushy shop assistant said as she walked over to the group, fixing up the fabric on Ziva's dress. Ziva found herself in a slightly awkward position as the assistant's wondering hands rotated the tight material around Ziva's body.

"Oh, you look so gorgeous," the woman continued, "If every man in the room doesn't fall down when they see you, they must be either gay or blind."

Ziva, who was not used to this idea of shopping, gave Emily a pleading look.

"Yeah, I would stop doing that," Emily joked to the assistant, "She will kill you." JJ laughed loudly and the assistant, who took it quite literally, stalked off to help another customer.

"What happened to the skirt and blouse?" JJ whined, "I liked that."

"I would not be caught alive in that," Ziva answered in a low voice.

"Dead, Z," Emily added, "You would not be caught dead in that."

Ziva shrugged. "That too."

Ziva settled on buying the dress, even though she did not know when she would wear it again, just to keep JJ and Emily happy. She also bought some other outfits that made her figure stand out but were still kick-arse enough for work.

"Okay, I am hungry," Ziva announced as they left the store.

"Me too," JJ complained.

"Fine." Emily gave in. She wanted to shop some more, but clearly her friends would not let her. After all, it was 1400. "I'll ring Pen and get her and Abby to meet us at that nice cafe we saw when we parked."

They walked back towards the cafe, meeting Garcia and Abby outside, and grabbed a table for five.

"So, you guys look like you shopped well," Abby stated as they took their seats, JJ, Emily and Ziva throwing their shopping bags next to the table.

"Some of us did," JJ answered, giving Ziva a meaningful stare.

"What?" Ziva questioned indignantly, "I bought things, too."

Emily laughed, vividly remembering what it took them to make her buy something. She took great pleasure in giving Abby and Garcia a blow-by-blow account of their morning until the waitress interrupted her.

"What can I get you lovely ladies today?" the young blonde asked brightly.

They went ordered in a circle with Emily piping up her order first, the Balsamic Chicken and White Bean Salad. Garcia ordered a plate of Fettuccini Carbonara and Abby selected the Pumpkin and Pancetta Risotto. That left JJ and Ziva still to decide on what they wanted for lunch.

"Um, well there's so much to choose from," JJ said, scrolling her eyes up and down the menu, "You know what, I think I'll have the Grilled Flathead with Lemon and Herb Marinade."

"And you, miss?" the young waitress asked Ziva politely.

"Caeser Salad, please," Ziva answered, "Without the bacon."

They ordered something to drink as well and the waitress left. Ziva winced as she flicked her straight hair back.

"Is it really painful?" Emily asked, noticing her friend's anguish.

"Not so much," Ziva answered, "When I leave it alone."

The other women gave her a sympathetic look as Abby took her chance to bring up the case that they had just worked on.

"So what happened the other night?" Abby asked Ziva with a wide smile.

"What do you mean?" she replied a little too quickly.

"With Tony," Garcia announced, "Ah, when McGee accidentally flipped our main screen on to view the bedroom."

JJ, Garcia and Abby burst out laughing, leaving Ziva glancing around at them evilly.

"I thought the purpose of this shopping marathon was to forget about the case?" Ziva brought up in an obvious attempt at changing the subject.

"Actually, the purpose was to drag you out and get you to talk about your feelings," JJ answered knowingly.

"There is nothing to talk about," Ziva pressed, "We were undercover. None of it was real." Ziva found that her face fell when she said the last sentence. She quickly recuperated and continued. "There is nothing going on between Tony and I."

Whilst the other women did not pick up on her reaction, Emily, being the word-class profiler that she was, immediately saw the change in Ziva's external emotions, but chose not to bring it up in front of the others.

"So," JJ said after a few moments of silence, "Just how hot was the fake sex?"

Ziva smiled as the other girls giggled loudly. The waitress brought their drinks, followed by their food.

"Was Gibbs watching it?" Ziva asked as they started to eat.

"Not really," JJ answered, "Him, Dave and Hotch spent most of the time either in MTAC with your director or in the bullpen."

"Don't worry, Ziva," Abby piped up, "I'm sure he knew what was going on anyway. The man is like magic. He knows things." She emphasised the last sentence with freaky, wide eyes.

They spent the next hour discussing the men of their teams while they ate. Emily had been surprised all week about how well their teams had gotten along. Normally, other federal agencies did not voluntarily choose to work with the FBI, let alone go shopping and have lunch with them. The NCIS team and the BAU team had clicked. She knew that the friendships they had formed would last.

"I'm going to throw a party next weekend," Emily announced, "For our two teams. We never get to have a life, so we might as well take it when we can get it."

"And if we have a case?" Ziva asked.

"We'll raincheck," Emily answered forcefully with a narrow look, "Seriously, we don't have any other friends. My condo is big enough. It'll be great."

"We are absolutely in, Em," Garcia added, the other women agreeing with her.

"Yay, Abby will you make sure your team knows the details when I let you know," Emily said happily. She had been thinking about throwing a group get-together for her team for a while, but now, she could not think about having one without the NCIS crew.

"Sure," Abby replied with a smile.

They went through the details of this gathering, deciding to have it the following Saturday night. Both teams had the Saturday off, so, barring the arising of a new case for either of them, it would work out great.

After a further fifteen minutes, they picked up the check, paid and walked back to their car with their heavy shopping bags.

They hopped into the convertible, with Emily driving again, and took off out of the shopping district in central DC.

"Well, today was certainly fun," Emily piped up as she turned up the radio, which was connected to JJ's iPod. JJ scrolled through her songs, deciding on a very appropriate one to add on as they cruised through the capital.

_Lucy Liu... with my girl, Drew... Cameron D. and Destiny  
Charlie's Angels, Come on  
Uh uh uh  
__  
_The girls cheered, joining in with the music.

_Question: Tell me what you think about me  
I buy my own diamonds and I buy my own rings  
Only ring your cell-y when I'm feelin lonely  
When it's all over please get up and leave  
Question: Tell me how you feel about this  
Try to control me boy you get dismissed  
Pay my own fun, oh and I pay my own bills  
Always 50/50 in relationships_

The shoes on my feet  
I've bought it  
The clothes I'm wearing  
I've bought it  
The rock I'm rockin'  
'Cause I depend on me  
If I wanted the watch you're wearin'  
I'll buy it  
The house I live in  
I've bought it  
The car I'm driving  
I've bought it  
I depend on me  
(I depend on me)

They pulled up at a set of lights next to red Mustang carrying two men, who hooted and jeered out their side window at the agents. The girls merely stared back at them and continued to jive to the music._Depend on noone else to give you what you want_

All the women who are independent  
Throw your hands up at me  
All the honeys who makin' money  
Throw your hands up at me  
All the mommas who profit dollars  
Throw your hands up at me  
All the ladies who truly feel me  
Throw your hands up at me

Girl I didn't know you could get down like that  
Charlie, how your Angels get down like that  
Girl I didn't know you could get down like that  
Charlie, how your Angels get down like that

Tell me how you feel about this  
Who would I want if I would wanna live  
I worked hard and sacrificed to get what I get  
Ladies, it ain't easy bein' independent  
Question: How'd you like this knowledge that I brought  
Braggin' on that cash that he gave you is to front  
If you're gonna brag make sure it's your money you flaunt

The shoes on my feet  
I've bought it  
The clothes I'm wearing  
I've bought it  
The rock I'm rockin'  
'Cause I depend on me  
If I wanted the watch you're wearin'  
I'll buy it  
The house I live in  
I've bought it  
The car I'm driving  
I've bought it  
I depend on me  
(I depend on me)

All the women who are independent  
Throw your hands up at me  
All the honeys who makin' money  
Throw your hands up at me  
All the mommas who profit dollars  
Throw your hands up at me  
All the ladies who truly feel me  
Throw your hands up at me

_Girl I didn't know you could get down like that  
Charlie, how your Angels get down like that  
Girl I didn't know you could get down like that  
Charlie, how your Angels get down like that_

Destiny's Child  
Wassup?  
You in the house?  
Sure 'nuff  
We'll break these people off Angel style

Child of Destiny  
Independent beauty  
Noone else can scare me  
Charlie's Angels

Woah  
All the women who are independent  
Throw your hands up at me  
All the honeys who makin' money  
Throw your hands up at me  
All the mommas who profit dollars  
Throw your hands up at me  
All the ladies who truly feel me  


_Throw your hands up at me_

Girl I didn't know you could get down like that  
Charlie, how your Angels get down like that

The five female federal agents threw their hands up and cheered as Emily sped down the highway back to Maryland to drop Abby home first. They bud her goodbye and then drove to Garcia's apartment block, bidding her a quick goodbye, too.

They rolled back to Emily and Ziva's apartment complex at 1630. They hopped out of the car, taking their own shopping bags with them and yelling goodbye back to JJ as they walked into building, bidding the doorman good afternoon on the way in.

"Ah, long day," Emily said as they reached their floor, "Got plans for tonight?"

"None whatsoever," Ziva answered, "What about you?"

"Babysitting Jack," Emily replied as she unlocked her door, "Aaron is going to his brother's buck's night and his ex-wife is away on a work conference. So Jacks' staying here tonight. Wanna join? We're watching Disney movies."

"Sounds great," Ziva answered as she, too, unlocked her door, "I will come over later."

And they walked into their respective condos, closing their doors behind them.

**A/N: The song is Independent Women Pt 1 by Destiny's Child (but I'm sure most of you knew that). Hope you all liked it. Please review.**


	12. Until the End of Time

**Okay, I'm told the scene later on in this chapter is corny, but I wanted to put it in there anyway. So I hope some of you enjoy it as much as I did. Nearly finished this story and planning it's sequel, which will be posted soon after the last chapter of this one is. Please review.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anythign from either Criminal Minds or NCIS and I'm not making a profit from this story.**

* * *

**Chapter Twelve: Until the End of Time**

Jack giggled hysterically as Emily tickled him in an effort to flick all of the loose popcorn off his clothes. It was 6.30 later that night and Ziva was sitting on the lounge in Emily's apartment with Hotch's three-year-old son, Jack, between her and her best friend. They had just finished watching the Disney movie, Cars, with pizza and popcorn and were about to move on to another movie.

"That was certainly a fun movie," Ziva said as she put the empty pizza box into the trash can in Emily's kitchen.

"Well, Jack liked it," Emily admitted as she rinsed their dirty plates and put them into her dishwasher, "I feel like ice-cream." And she dove into the back of her freezer, pulling out a tub of chocolate ice-cream, then grabbed three bowls and three large spoons and walked back to the living room, Ziva in tow.

"Does Hotch know that you are feeding his son food that is so appalling to his health?" Ziva piped up as they sat back on the lounge. Emily ignored her and scooped generous serves of the ice-cream into each bowl.

Jack shrieked with delight when she handed him a large bowl of ice-cream. Ziva and Emily giggled at the young boy's response, however, their moment was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Are you expecting anyone?" Ziva asked as they both looked at the door. Emily shook her head, so Ziva stood up and walked to the door, peering through the hole in the door to reveal the identity of their mysterious visitor.

"Tony?" Ziva questioned as she opened the door, "What are you doing here?" She looked to Emily for an explanation, but when none was given, she turned back to Tony.

"You didn't answer when I knocked on your apartment door," Tony replied, "So I wondered if Emily knew where you had gone."

"We're watching Disney movies, Tony," Emily yelled out to him, "Come and join us." Ziva shot her an evil glance, but Emily merely smiled back mischievously.

"Um, okay," Tony answered, pushing past Ziva into the apartment, "I rang you today."

"I know," Ziva answered, suddenly remembering that she had forgotten to return his call, "I was out and missed the call. And I forgot to ring you back."

"Pizza!" Tony shouted, ignoring Ziva's rambling as he ran to the kitchen and grabbed the full box of pizza, "Oh, I just wanted to check and see how your neck was. What did you do today?"

"We went shopping," Emily answered him shortly, "Jackie, let's go clean up your beautiful face before the next movie." She chased the boy to her bathroom, winking at Ziva as she exited the room.

"Who's the kid?" Tony questioned as he watched the two run to the bathroom.

"Agent Hotchner's son, Jack," Ziva answered, "Emily and I are babysitting."

"Right," he said slowly, not wishing to ask questions about it, "So, how's your neck?" The palm of his hand brushed up against her wound as he did so.

"I'm feeling much better, thank you," she answered, wanting desperately to lean into his touch, but instead, chose to turn away from him. He quickly dropped his hand away from her.

Emily and Jack came back from their trip to the bathroom, breaking up the awkward moment between Tony and Ziva, something for which they were both grateful.

"So, what are we watching, buddy?" Tony asked as he sat on the lounge, pulling the boy up beside him.

"Pocahontas," Jack answered him with difficulty, "Do you work with my Daddy and Emmy, too?"

"We worked with Tony this week, too," Emily told him, "Just like we worked with Ziva this week."

That explanation seemed good enough for Jack to trust the man and, together, the four of them watched the movie. Jack, who was sitting in between Tony and Emily, started to doze off halfway through and laid across Emily's lap, a blanket thrown over him. He was not the only one who was sleepy. Ziva, exhausted from being dragged from shop to shop all day, leant up against Tony's left shoulder and closed her eyes.

In an effort to get more comfortable, Tony found himself throwing his left arm around her shoulders and hugging her tight. She began snoring towards the end of the film. Emily smiled widely when she knew Tony wasn't looking, choosing to keep all possible remarks to herself. The movie ended and Emily picked up a sleeping Jack and carried him to her guest room.

She came back moments later to see Tony still on the lounge with Ziva, who unbeknown to them was still awake, as he absently played with her hair. Tony stopped immediately upon noticing Emily's imposing presence.

"Uh, Ziva?" Tony said into her ear uncertainly, "Movie's over." She opened her eyes and sat up, still being held in his arms. He let go of her as soon as she was up, not wanting to appear overly intimate, especially not in front of Emily.

Ziva stood up, grabbing her cell phone and house keys and walked towards the front door, stumbling a little due to her numb legs.

"Lailah tov, Emily, Tony," she said as she opened the door, using it to get her balance back.

"I'll make sure she gets into her apartment without falling over something," Tony announced as he stood up and followed her out the door, "Good night, Emily."

Emily walked to the door, watching Tony help Ziva walk back to her apartment. She laughed when Ziva, annoyed at Tony's need to help her, angrily pulled out of his grip.

"Just helping you, Miss Independent," Tony laughed as he let her walk into her condo alone. She shut the door behind her, leaving him outside. Emily laughed loudly, causing Tony to turn around and give her a shrewd look before walking towards the elevator. Emily was still smiling when she closed and locked her front door.

**oOo**

"Something smells good," Emily pointed out as she walked into her kitchen. Luckily for the NCIS and BAU teams, everything had worked out for them and their party at Emily's place was going ahead.

"Are you done cleaning?" Ziva replied as she stirred whatever was in the saucepan.

"Not much to clean," Emily replied looking around at her condo, "I'm never home to make a mess."

"Or to cook, it would seem," Ziva added, "You have hardly touched anything in this kitchen. Who did the furnishing, by the way?"

"My mother," Emily answered shortly, the look on her friend's face telling Ziva that no more explanation was required.

"Well, everyone will be arriving soon," Ziva announced, looking down at her watch. And sure enough, fifteen minutes later, McGee turned up with Abby and JJ. Ziva knew that JJ lived near McGee in Silver Springs, which was not far from where she and Emily lived, so she assumed that he had picked her up.

"Wow," McGee said to Emily as she walked inside her residence, "You have a very nice place, Emily."

"Yeah," Abby also noted, "We didn't get to come in last week. It's the same size as Ziva's, only neater." She looked around in awe, but upon noticing the narrow glance that Ziva was emanating, she added, "Sorry, Ziva."

Soon after, Gibbs arrived along with Ducky and Jenny, followed by Morgan, Reid, Garcia and Hotch. Palmer came in alone about ten minutes after them, but he was soon tailed by Rossi, which left Tony arriving last at seven o'clock, thirty minutes after the party started.

Ziva gave him a warm smile when she opened the door and allowed him to enter. He did not step into the house straight away. Instead, he stood, awestruck, in the doorway, his eyes trailing down the magnificent green cocktail dress that Ziva was wearing. It was the same one that she had been forced to buy the week before on the shopping marathon that she was dragged on, but it accentuated each and every of her curves. The material clung to her body so tightly that all Tony could imagine was what it would be like to pull it off her.

"You look amazing," he told her breathlessly in a low voice, no more than a whisper.

"Thank you, Tony," she answered, still smiling widely, "You do not look so bad yourself." In truth, he didn't. He was grey pants with a green, white and grey striped shirt and white leather belt and shoes. His hair was in a tidier do than the one he usually had for work.

The party took off as the food Ziva had spent the entire afternoon cooking was served, the alcohol was out and everyone was having a good time. Ducky was in a deep conversation with Reid and Rossi, discussing everything from the various cases each had worked on in the past to Rossi's book.

Jenny and Gibbs were sitting at in the dining room with Hotch, chatting about politics, current affairs and their own teams. Palmer and McGee were watching the others engage in various drinking games that involved bottles of tequila, Sambuca, scotch and vodka as well as numerous scotch glasses. All of them were quite tipsy by the end of it.

Ziva, who held her alcohol pretty well, got out the dessert at about 9.30. Everybody enjoyed the Pavlova, tiramisu and array of small cakes and pasties that Emily had bought.

Tony dropped down on the seat by the piano, flipped the hood up and flexed his fingers. He was sober enough to play a tune, but drunk enough not to feel embarrassed as he shamed himself, so he began to play a soft and slow melody. Upon hearing this, all of the guests in the house gathered around him, Ziva the closest, who was right next to him.

"Can you play any better than that, DiNozzo?" Morgan jeered through the crowd of agents. Tony laughed, his confidence fuelled by alcohol, and stepped it up a notch, his fingers moving quickly and in tandem as he began to play a song they all knew so well. As its introduction ended, Tony smiled before humming and breaking out into the rest of the song.

_"Ohhhhhh, yeah  
Oh whoa, yeah  
Here we go, 1, 2, 3, 4._

_"Woke up this morning  
Heard the TV sayin' something  
'Bout disaster in the world and  
It made me wonder where I'm going  
There's so much darkness in the world  
But I see beauty left in you girl  
And what you give me let's me know  
__That I'll be alright."  
_

Ziva sat down beside him, playing the same melody in a higher octave, her fingers making light work of the tune. Tony looked at her with a smile and continued to sing.

_"'cause if your love was all I had  
In this life  
Well that would be enough  
Until the end of time  
So rest your weary heart  
And relax your mind  
Cause I'm gonna love you girl  
Until the end of time._

_"You've got me singing  
Oh whoa, yeah  
Oh whoa, yeah  
Everybody sing  
Oh whoa, yeah  
Everybody singing  
Oh whoa yeah."_

Tony stopped singing, allowing Ziva to take over and sing the next verse. The others simply watched in awe. Emily was enthralled the most by their display, counting her blessings that, so far, the entire night had gone so well and it was only getting better.

_"Now if you're ever wondering  
About the way I'm feeling  
Well baby boy there ain't no question  
Just to be around you is a blessing  
Sick and tired of trying to save the world  
I just want to spend my time with you boy  
And what you're giving me  
Let's me know that we'll be alright."  
_

Tony joined back in the song, and together, their voices resonated out the chorus in perfect harmony.

_"'cause if your love was all I had  
In this life  
Well that would be enough  
Until the end of time  
So rest your weary heart  
And relax your mind  
Cause I'm gonna love you girl/boy  
__Until the end of time."  
_

Ziva stepped back from the song, slightly abashed to be singing with Tony in front of their co-workers, but thoroughly enjoying the experience. She let him continue with the lyrics alone.

_"You've got me singing  
Oh whoa, yeah  
Oh whoa, yeah  
Everybody sing  
Oh whoa, yeah  
Everybody singing  
Oh whoa yeah.  
_  
_"This one's for the lovers  
If you're out there let me hear you say  
Yeah, yeah, yeah."  
_

Morgan, Emily, Abby, JJ and Garcia answered, joining in on the song.

_"(Yeah, yeah, yeah)"  
_

Tony smiled and continued the song.

_"This one's for the lovers  
If you're out there let me hear you say  
Yeah, yeah."  
_

Again, the same five responded beautifully, looking at the silent guests expectantly.

_"(Yeah, yeah)"_

_"This one's for the lovers  
If you're out there let me hear you say  
Yeah, yeah, yeah."  
_

This time, McGee, Reid, Palmer and Jenny also joined them, leaving Hotch, Rossi and Gibbs the only ones silen"t.

_"(Yeah, yeah, yeah)"  
_

_"This one's for the lovers  
If you're out there let me hear you say  
Yeah, yeah."  
_

For finality, all of the agents, including the previously silent three, sang the last part.

_"(Yeah, yeah)"  
_

Tony continued to hum as his hands danced dangerously close to his partners.

_"Oh whoa yeah  
Oh whoa yeah  
Oh whoa yeah  
Oh whoa yeah."  
_

Tony smiled at her and something must have clicked in Ziva's mind, because, instead of returning the smile, she glanced down and stood up, moving away from the piano and over next to Emily, her face slightly red. If Tony was perturbed by her actions at all, he did not show it. Instead, he slowed the flow of music resonating from the piano down and sang the last chorus.

_"'cause if your love was all I had  
In this life  
That would be enough  
Until the end of time."_

Everybody clapped and cheered as Tony finished his piano solo. He stood up and moved away from the piano, bowing excessively at his audience, causing them to laugh. He looked over in Ziva's direction to see her clapping along with Emily, smiling brightly. He returned the smile and walked over to the fridge, grabbing a few beers and tossing them around to the other guys.

Unfortunately, his aim was off slightly and McGee ducked as a beer came catapulting towards his head. It shattered over the wall behind him instead. Ziva 

used the commotion to duck away to the bathroom, but not before Tony saw where she was going.

She stood in front of the mirror, attempting to fix her hair and contain her emotions. The situation she had placed herself in with Tony had lit up something inside of her. Something that she was not sure even existed or knew what it was fully. She stopped fiddling with her hair for a moment and stared at her reflection in the mirror. _'Why is it that I continuously involve myself in situations like this with Tony?'_ her inner voice demanded of her.

"Ahem," a deep voice grumbled from behind. Ziva turned to see the same man she had been thinking about standing in the doorway.

"So, did my piano-playing skills match up to your esteemed expectations, Zee-vah?" he asked with a smile, drawing out the syllables of her name.

She flushed, choosing to answer truthfully, whereas she would normally jest. "You played very well, Tony."

"Why thank-you, Ziva. You played well too." He smiled and stepped towards her. She took a step back and turned her head away from his gaze. He took another step towards her and, at the same time, lifted his palm to up to touch her cheek, pulling her eyes back to face him.

"I really enjoyed playing with you," Tony told her softly, his eyes saying more than that.

"I enjoyed it, too," Ziva admitted, staring into his eyes. He took another step towards her, placing his other hand on her waist. He leaned in, and as he did, Ziva lifted her hands up and around his head to pull him in closer. Their lips touched for the briefest second when Palmer burst into the bathroom, his full bladder telling him not to bother knocking.

"Oh, I'm sorry, guys," Palmer stuttered as he sped back out of the bathroom. Ziva pulled away from Tony, embarrassed, and pushed passed the two men and out of the room. Tony gave Palmer a quick, shrewd look before following her out of the room.

He saw her walk straight over to Emily, who was sitting with Jenny, JJ, Abby and Garcia, discussing their shopping trip the week before. Tony did not want to cause a scene by talking to her in front of the other women, so he strolled over to Morgan, who was forcing Reid and McGee to watch the sports channel on Emily's entertainment system, fully equipped with surround sound and a projector with a large screen.

The party ended at about one o'clock the following morning. The guests left in a herd as soon as Hotch announced he was leaving. They all walked out in a group to their cars downstairs in the undercover car park. Ziva stood behind Emily the whole time, not wishing to engage in a conversation with Tony. They left soon after in droves and Emily and Ziva headed back and took the elevator to their floor.

"What happened in the bathroom?" Emily asked after a few moments of silence, "I know that Tony followed you."

_Ping._ They arrived on their floor and Ziva stepped out first, silently. Emily caught up behind her and pushed her for an answer.

"Did he kiss you?" Emily asked as they approached the door to Ziva's condo.

Ziva opened it roughly and walked inside without a word. She turned and merely stared into her friend's eyes.

"We'll talk later," Emily conceded and Ziva bid her good night before closing her door.

Emily walked to her own condo alone, knowing the answer to her question and wondering whether or not what had happened was a good thing.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so did you like it? Please let me know. I decided on the song when I was watching the FutureSex/LoveShow. If you haven't seen it, youtube it. This song sounds so much better live. Please review.**


	13. Hiatus

**Okay people. And so ends this fic. I had two more chapters planned, but I merged them into one, slightly longer chapter. But don't worry, I will start the sequel very soon and it should be up quite quickly. This chapter includes all of the missing scenes that I could come up with before, during and after the season three finale, Hiatus. Thanks so much to everyone who read and reviewed this fic. It meant a lot to me. Hope you stay on and read the sequel, 'Secrets Revealed,' which will take place immediately after this story. Thanks again.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything from either NCIS or Criminal Minds and I am not making a profit from this story.**

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen: Hiatus**

Ziva lay sleeping in her bed the following Sunday morning. It was 0900, but she was too tired to wake up and exercise. Her dreams dwelled upon the previous night, a night that she had shared with Tony and her emotions were now made very clear to her.

She woke to the sound of her phone ringing. She rolled over to her bedside table and picked up her phone, noticing the caller ID read 'Tony,' her speed dial one.

"Tony?" she said as she answered the phone, "Why are you calling me?"

"We got a case," he replied stiffly and unemotionally, "Gibbs expects you in here in half an hour."

She hand up the phone, her face crestfallen at Tony's dismissive behaviour. She regained her composure quickly and changed with haste, leaving eight minutes later and arriving at the Navy yard not long after.

Ziva walked into the bullpen to see her Tony on the phone at his desk and Gibbs and McGee nowhere to be seen. She heard the elevator ping and McGee walked out, his tie still undone and his hair a mess.

"Why are we here on a Sunday when we should be off?" McGee asked as he walked into the bullpen.

Ziva shrugged and Tony waved at him to be quiet as he continued to yell at someone on the phone.

"What do you mean, you can't tell me what time the ship is coming into port?" he yelled into the phone, "Well, aren't you in contact with them? You will? Thank-you." And he hung up the phone.

"Success," he then announced, throwing his arms back behind his head as he relaxed in his chair, a triumphant look on his face.

"What is going on?" Ziva questioned, confused by the situation.

Tony was about to answer, but seeing Gibbs walk downstairs with the Director, he jumped out of his seat and ran around to the front of his desk. "Boss," he shouted out, "Rang the port. They said they do not know the exact time that the ship will be docking in, but it will be tonight and they will ring me when they find out more information."

"Good," Jenny said, glancing at Gibbs as she moved in front of him, "Hopefully, this operation will go off without a hitch. I'm having dinner at the White House tonight. I would appreciate no interruptions." She sent a meaningful glance in Gibbs' direction.

"I'm just saying, Madam Director," Gibbs started to say slowly before he was cut off.

"What, Jethro?" she answered rather angrily, Gibbs' team edging away from the two of them slowly, "Politics is not something that you would easily comprehend." She turned away from him and towards his team. "Get ready to go to the port soon. I want you all up in MTAC at 1000 for a briefing."

She walked away from them and back up to her office. The team turned back to face Gibbs when they heard the door close.

"You heard her," Gibbs said, looking at them expectantly, "DiNozzo, call the Port Authority and U.S. Customs, let them know that we're coming. David, find out what you can about this ship, where it's from, what it's carrying and who's commanding it. McGee, I want surveillance set up. See what you do with the port's security system."

And he walked out of the bullpen and into the elevator. The team halted for a moment when the elevator doors closed, looking at them suspiciously, but they opened suddenly once again. Gibbs merely looked at them, before they grasped the hint and rushed around, collecting information. He smiled as he closed the doors once more and headed downstairs to get a coffee.

**oOo**

It was dark and late that night as Ziva, Tony and McGee waited in the dark sedan for Gibbs' signal. It was silent and awkward, with Tony and Ziva in the front seat, desperately wanting to talk about the night before, but could not with McGee in the car.

"So," McGee started to say with mischievous smile, "About last night? What happened? Palmer was a little shell-shocked when he came out of the bathroom."

Ziva remained silent, but Tony elected to answer him. "Wouldn't you like to know Probie-Wan Kenobi? Your Mossad officer, Ziva, here was most upset when Palmer walked in on her. She took to yanking his arm behind his back, shoving him down on the floor and threatening to remove a number of parts of his anatomy with a hack saw." He made excessive hand gestures to go along with this explanation.

"Really?" McGee asked, the suspicious look of disbelief plastered on his face.

"You wanna gossip, McGee?" Tony then said quickly and rather forcefully as he looked over the dock with his binoculars, "Wait until we get Gibbs off the boat. This is so Usual Suspects."

"Tony, your dying words will be 'I've seen this film,'" Ziva announced as she took the binoculars away from him and looked through them herself.

"Gibbs even looks a little bit like Gabriel Byrne," Tony then told her.

"Okay, who is Gabriel Byrne?" she asked, still watching the docks for any sign of suspicious activity.

"An actor who boards a mysterious ship like this one searching for Keyser Soze."

"Another actor?" Ziva asked pointedly.

"No," Tony answered shortly, "Keyser Soze is a character in the film that may or may not exist."

"I'm confused," Ziva proclaimed after a pause and clearly looking it.

"So am I and I saw the DVD twice," McGee piped up from the back seat, leaning forward to tell her this.

"Sound of Music confuses you, Probie," Tony told him pointedly.

"I love that movie," Ziva pointed out excitedly. She opened her mouth to sing as Tony clasped his hand over the top of it.

"One note," he whispered forcefully, "And I will lock you in a room and make you listen to 'It's A Small World' for twenty-four hours straight. Do we understand each other?"

Ziva nodded slightly and muffled out an 'Uhuh.'

Tony found himself giving her a long explanation about the idiosyncrasies of The Usual Suspects, which was soon after interrupted by a sudden and terrifying bomb blast coming from the ship. They sat there shell-shocked for a moment, before moving to act.

**oOo**

Ziva braced herself against the wall of the bathroom. Normally, she could compartmentalise her feelings, hide away her emotions, never to be shown to the outside world. But not today. Between the overflow of emotions she had been suppressing after her experience with Tony on Saturday night and now facing up to the realisation that Gibbs was nearly killed in an explosion, she found it difficult to cope with everything that had happened and what else there was to do.

She walked out of the bathroom and outside for some fresh air. Trying to build up her tough exterior once more, Ziva found it hard focus on shying away her emotions. Her external shell meant so much to her and it was something that, recently, she had been judged harshly on by her friends.

Swallowing her pride, Ziva dug her hand into her pocket, pulling out her cell phone and dialling Emily's number.

"Prentiss," Emily said as she sleepily answered the phone.

"Hi, Em," Ziva said, taking in a deep breath to hold back tears.

"Ziva, what's wrong?" Emily piped up, alarmed by Ziva's show of emotion, "Has something happened?"

"We're on a case," Ziva said slowly, trying grasp her emotions, "Gibbs was in an explosion on the ship we were staking out."

"Is he okay?!" Emily shouted, jumping out of her bed, alerting JJ immediately, who was sleeping in the other bed.

"He was taken to Portsmouth," Ziva replied wearily, "He hasn't regained consciousness yet."

"Oh my," Emily whispered and relayed the information back to JJ, "Are you guys okay? Is there anything we can do for you? What's the case?"

"The extreme possibility of a terrorist attack somewhere on the globe orchestrated by Abu Sayyaf," Ziva responded despairingly, "And I do not believe there is anything you can do. Where are you now?"

"Texas," Emily answered, "But if you need anything, I'm sure Hotch could do something for you."

"The offer is very generous," Ziva said tiredly.

"Okay," Emily began, tapping into her astute profile of Ziva's mind, "What is it? I know something else is up."

Ziva drew in a breath and remained silent for a moment. "It is nothing," Ziva said finally, "I'll see you when you get home." And she hung up the phone without another word. Leaning up against a pylon, she closed her eyes and tried to forget the events of the past twenty four hours, instead choosing to focus on the crucial next few hours. She opened her eyes, her perspective anew, and walked back inside with her head held high.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, Emily closed her phone and took a deep breath.

"She okay?" JJ asked looking across the room at her friend.

"I don't think so," Emily answered wearily, "We haven't had the chance to talk since the other night. With the NCIS case and then ours, I haven't seen her since we said goodnight after the party. I know something's up."

JJ looked down. "Let's get some sleep," she said finally, "Unless you're gonna call her back. But we all have work to do."

"Yeah," Emily agreed, slightly disjointed, as she rolled over on her bed and turned the bedside light off.

**oOo**

"What do you think is going on in Jenny's office?" Ziva asked as she wearily sat down at her desk.

"I have no idea," Tony replied, equally as tired.

"Well he's been in there for a bit," McGee added, "And he was seriously pissed when the Cape Fear exploded."

"You think, Probie?" Tony questioned aggressively, "He was right."

"The right answer was not the answer they were hoping for," Ziva responded dismally, worn out by the events of the previous few days and the overwhelming emotions that were attached to them.

They sat in silence as they saw Gibbs descend down the stairs. Tony watched him walk to his desk and open his drawer, looking for his gun and badge.

"Oh, uh," Tony said as he stood up with Gibbs' possessions in his hands, "I got them, boss. I, uh, got them from the medics when they took you." And he handed them over.

"Appreciate it," Gibbs replied, a worn-out overtone in his voice, "You'll do." And he handed the gun and badge over. "It's your team now."

He walked over to McGee to address him directly. "Tim, you're a good agent. Don't let him tell you otherwise."

"I won't, boss," McGee replied as he nodded.

"Gibbs?" Abby asked, her voice broken by tears. He put a finger on her lips and kissed her cheek soothingly, and then moved on to speak to Ziva.

"I owe you, Ziva," he said, capturing her wandering gaze.

"I'll collect, Jethro," she answered, forcing a smile.

"Give me a ride home, Duck," he then said, clasping a hand on his old friend's back.

"Of course," Ducky answered and the two walked to the elevator.

Gibbs turned back to his team, knowing that they were watching him leave. "Semper fi." And he turned back and walked into the elevator.

"What just happened?" Tony asked loudly and pointlessly as soon as the doors closed. Abby and McGee seem too stunned to answer, so he looked to Ziva. She gazed back at him intently, and then silently grabbed her gear and followed her former boss to the elevator and out the door.

**oOo**

Ziva felt nervous, lost and confused as she walked down the hallway of Tony's building. She had made the split second decision that it was he that she needed to speak to. And there she was.

She halted in front of his door, pressing her forehead to it before deciding to knock, knowing then and there that there was no going back. Tony answered the door after about a minute, casually dressed in a tracksuit pants and a t-shirt.

"Ziva?" he asked confusedly as he leant up against his door frame, "What are you doing here? It's like 2300."

"I could not sleep," she replied simply, looking away from him at the same time, "I actually don't know why I am here. I should go." And she turned away from him, but as she moved, he placed a firm grip on her arm and pulled her back towards him.

In one movement, he collected her hair in fist and pulled her lips to his own, consummating the kiss that both had been waiting for since long before their recent undercover operation. In a sweep of passion, he pulled her into his apartment and shut the door behind them, still capturing her lips in exotic bliss.

_Fin._

* * *

**A/N: I'd love you all to leave me one last review. Let me know what you wanna read in the sequel and I'll see what I can do about it. Cheers everyone.**


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